


Nothing But Ruins

by CapturetheFinnick



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: AU, Art History, F/F, First Meetings, art gallery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-05-23 09:31:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14931689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapturetheFinnick/pseuds/CapturetheFinnick
Summary: For Waverly, an art history student, the art gallery is her home, not to mention the workplace of her best friend Jeremy. So, when Nicole takes over as owner of the gallery, she's slightly sceptical, but from the moment she sees Nicole she knows she has something special.An AU in which Nicole is London's youngest gallery owner, and Waverly is an endlessly flustered art history student, who is consistently caught off guard.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this quite a while ago but have been working on the next chapter, but I'm ill and I want to upload it now so?  
> I hope this works, trying to write exposition takes over a bit of it I think. Hopefully this will be around five parts, and the next part should be out next week I hope?

Waverly was sat staring into space. Of course, that wasn’t what she was meant to be doing. She had a bag full of books, the pages curling, the plastic wrapping beginning to chip at the corners, the majority of the front pages boasting a smudged print of _1997,_ which was the last date someone had plucked them from their dust-bitten shelves. Most of the time when Waverly told people her dissertation topic people raised their eyebrows in confusion, or nodded along as if they didn’t want to seem dumb. Half the time Waverly was sure she was going crazy, living in a little space at the very top of her mind, perched atop a crow’s nest, surveying the rest of her mind. Lost in her thoughts. A daydreamer, that’s what her mama has always called her, and Waverly’s lips curled a little at the memory of the nickname. Unfortunately, her mama had been the only one to say it with such fondness, people ‘back home’ rolled their eyes when she said she was doing art history in the first place (w _hy are you putting your talents towards something more useful?)_ And sure sometimes Waverly wished she’d just spent five miserable years to become a lawyer, at least now she’d be on her way to making actual money, instead of racking up student loans she had no hope of paying off. But then again, she only had to come into the art museum (which had become a home for her these past few years) for her to remember why she did it, for her to remember as much as she admired a pant suit from afar, that wasn’t the life for her. The gentle brush of the paint across the canvas and the stories trapped inside them, the idea that you could trace that single stroke back hundreds of years, an entire life dripping from the frame. What had motivated them to paint it? A suspended moment in time, a form of time travel, people’s lives, mere dots, frozen in passing. That was where her interest lay, and that was why she could be found day to day, staring off into a painting, ignoring the bright light of the laptop where her work buzzed.

Which was exactly what she was doing at that very moment. She leant back against the bench, her laptop abandoned by her side. Her eyes drifted up to the ceiling, the gold plaited edges, and slope of the dome leading up to a clear view of the (now dark) sky above. Waverly could spend hours here (even when she wasn’t procrastinating.)

~

“Here again?” came a voice from the doorway. Waverly had got a sudden burst of inspiration, frantically writing in her notebook (another thought to desperately try to squeeze into the structure of her already-too-long dissertation.) She turned, seeing Nicole. The museum had recently changed hands, and Nicole was the new owner of the gallery section (God knows how she’d done it – Waverly had nothing to show for her twenty-one years except a few essays, and here Nicole was, not much older than her, the owner of one of the more famous art galleries in the area.) Waverly was always hanging around the art gallery late, getting lost in her thoughts, and forgetting about arbitrary closing times (she swore sooner or later she was going to end up locked inside). She’d become friends with lots of the museum staff, which just so happened to include her best friend Jeremy who was VERY interested in rocks (like _very_ interested, he had a PHD in rocks, and happily spent all day discussing them with various members of the public, if you needed a rock expert he was _the_ guy to call). So, she’d been reasonably dubious when she’d heard there would be a new owner (she was way too invested), especially when she heard said new owner was only twenty-five years old.

She’d met Nicole a few times now.

The first time she’d seen Nicole, she’d been caught off guard by the redness of her hair, like a throwback to pre-Raphaelite era (something she’d could never voice – it might tip the boundary from _adorably nerdy_ to _full geek)._ The light from the skylight had drifted down, her shimmering hair seeming to catch the reflection from every gold frame, and her smile had made Waverly a little weak at the knees. She’d been sat in the museum café, drinking coffee and sharing half a lemon-poppy seed bun (a tradition her and Jeremy had had since he’d started working there), when Nicole had walked in, a plain white t-shirt under a dark blue blazer, the sleeves half rolled up over a pair of skinny, black jeans and Waverly had sworn she’d seen more than one head turn. And then she’d smiled that warm smile, sweet as clover honey, and all at once it reminded Waverly of summers back home, of days where her and Wynonna would lay in the cornfields, not a single other care or duty in the world, watching the clouds go by and laughing the day away. Jeremy had nudged her in the ribs ( _you’re staring)_ and Waverly hadn’t even realised she was the new gallery owner until she’d left (not that Waverly could actually recall anything she’d said.) _I told you she was exactly your type,_ Jeremy had grinned as Waverly hid her face behind her half of the bun, not doing a great job of covering up the pink blush that had seeped through her cheeks. Jeremy had done nothing but tease her about her crush ever since.

The second time Waverly met Nicole she was just gathering her stuff as Nicole was coming to lock up (she was a lot more present than the last owner, who’d stayed locked up somewhat mysteriously in his top floor office, only emerging for gallery openings and ‘special’ occasions.)

“I’m sorry!” she had cried out, still scribbling in her notebook, “I’m leaving now I promise.” She’d laughed, not realising who was behind her until she spun around, faltering a little when she caught a glimpse again of that bright red hair, her (now semi-famous) blush returning to her cheeks.

“It’s okay, you’ve got,” Nicole had paused, glancing down at the watch that adorned her wrist “22 seconds.”

Waverly laughed, “Sorry, I just get so – so caught up,” she had smiled, shoving her papers into her bag,

“It’s fine, take your time,” Nicole had smiled, “I don’t think I introduced myself last time?” she asked, “You’re Jeremy’s friend right? I’m Nicole – I just became the owner here a few weeks ago.”

“Yes I’m Jeremy’s friend,” Waverly had said, shaking Nicole’s outstretched hand, “Waverly,”

“Waverly?” Nicole said, smiling, and honestly hearing her own name in that sweet, almost southern, soft accent Waverly thought she might just give up right on that spot.

“I know it’s unusual – not quite sure what my parents were thinking,” Waverly began to babble, “then again apparently they nearly went with Welcome so…“she said, trailing off.

“I like it.” Nicole smiled, and Waverly stopped talking, throwing her backpack on her bag and smiling back at her, “Can I walk you out?” Nicole said, gesturing to the door and Waverly wasn’t even sure she remembered to nod, there was magic running through her veins.

Which brought them to right now.

“You’re making a habit out of this,” Nicole drawled, grinning as she wandered over. “This one is your favourite?” she said, gesturing to the painting that hung in front of them, _Café Terrace at Night,_

“One of them,” Waverly nodded, waiting to see if Nicole was going to say anything else before continuing, “I just like the contrasts,” she said softly, “and the people, it’s almost as if it’s going to move and come to life, it’s like an idealised version of the world, a tiny piece of magic,” she said, blushing, “Sorry I know that’s nerdy.”

“Hey I own an art gallery, nothing’s too much for me,” Nicole laughed,

“That’s what I’m interested in,” Waverly said, gesturing towards her pile of notes that were still scattered on the bench, “the individuals, who are the people in painting, are they specific people or just imagined figures?  What kind of lives did they lead, you know, what inspired the artists to paint them?” Waverly had half-forgotten Nicole was there, her eyes lost in the smudged strokes, “Sorry,” she said, coming back to herself, “I talk too much,” she moved to place her papers back into her bag, her blush drifted into pure red.

“I like it,” Nicole said, and as Waverly raised her head she saw that prize smile, the perfect encapsulation of _charming,_ the exact one that had adorned the cover of newspapers a few weeks ago, the spark filtering even through the heavy-handed black and white ink, the title reading _youngest gallery owner in London history?_

“Thanks,” Waverly said, standing up and throwing her backpack onto her right shoulder, “I’ll be going then.”

“I’ll walk with you?”

“Sure,” Waverly said, smiling at the floor, and trying not to think about the reasons Nicole might want to walk her _two minutes_ to the front door.

They walked in silence for a little bit before Nicole started, “So what made you want to do art history?”

“I always loved history,” Waverly smiled, “as a child I was obsessed with trying to put together the pieces of my family history, no one ever wanted to tell me the ins and outs so I made a notebook, tried to piece together scraps that I heard before I had enough evidence to confront my aunt Gus,” Waverly laughed, the thought of her eight-year-old self, a scrapbook bigger than her head, plucked from the shelves of Asda with the money she had made from her cake sale, having plenty to spare, (it turns out people felt sorry for kids whose family had just died), tottering over and presenting her aunt with the facts.

“You’ve got a big family?”

“Huge,” Waverly laughed, “I’ve not met most of them though, when I go home it’s just me, Gus and my sister Wynonna,”

“That’s nice, what about the art part, do you paint?”

“Actually yes,” Waverly blushed, “not well though,”

Nicole shook her head, “I’m sure that’s not true,” she turned as they reached the door, “hey Jeremy said you were vegan right?”

“Yeah?” Waverly said, her brow furrowing.

“Can I take you out to eat sometime this weekend?” Nicole said, not even a flash of hesitancy on her face, “My housemate recommended a vegan place, in Soho, Mildred’s?”

“Oh,” Waverly said, trying to process what just happened, “I’ve heard of it, sounds good,” she smiled at Nicole, their eyes locking as Nicole leaned closer to her. Waverly stumbled back, knocking her head against the wall,

“Ok bye,” she said in a panic, “see you then!” she pushed the door, rushing down the steps and leaving a bemused Nicole to wonder what had just happened.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so hopefully I'm going to start updating this every Friday, it was such a squeeze to get this one finished in time, between moving back home for the summer / work / organising moving to a different country in September, I've been swamped! I'm really enjoying writing this though, and thank you so much for the positive reaction! Hopefully I'll be able to stick to the schedule!

“But what does it mean?” Waverly moaned, throwing her hands over her face and leaning back against her and Jeremy’s (shared) sofa.

Jeremy laughed, concealing his snigger behind a hand.

“I’m pretty sure it means she wants to go for a meal with you? Not sure it’s that complicated.”

Waverly lowered her hands from her face, glaring at Jeremy,

“Don’t you dare mock me?” she glowered, “Remember when you were first getting with Jack and we spent hours analysing texts, it was agonising.” She said pointedly, “you owe me this one.”

“Fine, fine.” Jeremy said, throwing his hands up in defence.

“So is it a date?” Waverly said,

Jeremy rolled his eyes, “You really are a useless lesbian.” He laughed, “Of course it’s a date.”

“One, I’m bi, so jot that down,” Waverly grinned, “secondly, for your information, it could be casual for all you know, like a friend thing.”

Jeremy shook his head, stifling laughter, “Didn’t you nearly kiss last time?”

“Nearly,” Waverly winced,

“And you still think she wants to be friends?” Jeremy said pointedly, arching his eyebrows, “What happened anyway?”

“I don’t know, I panicked, she’s so tall and so hot, and so forward, oh god,” Waverly said, throwing herself down onto the sofa, her head firmly pressed against a cushion. She was glad it was just Jeremy home, because she thought she might die of embarrassment if she had to talk about it with all _five_ of her housemates, especially Chrissy, Chrissy only had to raise her eyebrows and tilt her head and embarrassment would wash over her. She didn’t need her judgement right now, she was embarrassed enough (not that she wasn’t usually right.)

“Come on Waves, you’re smarter than this,” Jeremy grinned, “not quite as smart as _me_ of course.”

She threw a pillow at his head, and sighed, “Fine, you’re right. It’s probably a date.” She smiled, before sinking back into the sofa, “Oh god what do I wear?”

~

Waverly had gotten dressed five times, nervously eaten half a piece of toast, decided against it, thrown it in the bin and stood staring at it, not to mention she’d ushered Chrissy in and out of her room a dozen times (that woman had the patience of a saint), but she was finally ready to go.

“You look great,” Chrissy said, beaming, Jeremy looking up from his laptop,

“Amazing!” he said, “of course this coming from the fashion _expert,”_ he grinned, motioning to his favourite comfort hoodie, it’s red colour faded more to pink, the hood crinkled and loose.

“You really think it’s okay? Because I can go back-“

“No!” Chrissy said, her eyes widening, a hitch of desperation in her voice as Jeremy laughed, “You look amazing I promise,” she smiled, “I’ll even let you borrow my nice shoes.”

“Really?” Waverly said, her eyes lighting up.

“Really.” Chrissy smiled.

~

Twenty minutes later, Waverly found herself outside a fancier-than-usual restaurant questioning everything. Before she was worried she’d over dressed, what with Chrissy’s strappy heels, but peering through the window, it felt like this was not the place for jeans. She pulled her phone from her pocket, 18:57, one minute after she had last checked, damn. She felt like every one was looking at her, and she wondered if she her outfit screamed, _I’m waiting for a date._ With every second she swore she felt a sympathetic glance. She felt herself wanting to scream; _I’m not being stood up I’m just early!_ But she bottled it inside, looking down at her outfit one more time. She’d paired black skinny jeans with a floral blouse, black with red flowers, which flowed and which was slightly more low cut than she was used to, Chrissy had even plaited the top of her hair, the rest of it flowing over her shoulders. She gulped. _Oh god, why did she agree to this._ And then she caught sight of Nicole. _Oh, that’s why_. Her heart started beating a mile a minute, Nicole’s smile brightening the dusk.

She was wearing a dark green shirt, her eyes seeming to sparkle.

“Hey,” Nicole said, her red hair practically shimmering in the dimming light, “you look lovely.”

“Thanks,” Waverly smiled as Nicole opened the door for her, and managed to stay on her feet, despite her trembling legs.

~

“So,” Waverly said, pretending to focus on the menu items, “you’ve never told me how you got to be the youngest art gallery owner in London?”

Nicole paused before taking a breath, causing Waverly to look up from the menu,  “My grandfather owns the whole museum,” Nicole said, blushing a little as Waverly choked on her (non-existent) food,

“What?”

“He owns it, he never ran it or anything, but when he died it was passed to me,”

“Wow,” Waverly said, unable to fully process what was happening, “I’m sure Jeremy told me it belonged to royals.”

“I wouldn’t say he was a royal technically,” Nicole said, trying to hide behind her menu a little, “I think he was a third cousin, or maybe fourth.”

Waverly’s mouth hung open, “so you’re royalty?”

“Too distant to count,”

“But basically?” Waverly said, her palms starting to sweat, she was from a small hick town back out in the middle of nowhere, her mother had left as a child and her dad had been so distant she’d basically been raised out of her sister’s piggy bank, her hair had been wild as her and Wynonna roamed the fields, the locals shaking their heads. And now here she was, all the way across the ocean, studying in _London,_ and on a date with a _princess_ (not a princess, but _still.)_

“It’s sort of embarrassing,” Nicole said, and she looked vulnerable for a second, her hardened, confident exterior dropping for just a second.

“Not embarrassing, you must be loaded.” Waverly said, before quickly throwing her hand to her face, “I’m sorry that’s so rude,”

Nicole was laughing, her eyes crinkled above the menu, “It’s refreshing, honestly.” she said, “we’re actually not super rich, my grandad was disgraced, lost it all,” she said, noting Waverly’s tilted head, actually listening to what she was saying, “all he had was the gallery, my parents never wanted it, and it’s not like it makes much money, but my grandad and me both loved art, and when he asked me to take over just before he died, I was honoured,” Nicole said, smiling wide.

Waverly smiled wide, “Wow,” and Nicole felt enraptured by the pure sunshine spirit that seemed to live right on the surface, spilling from her smile, she found herself unable to help grinning back.

The waitress hung over their table, seeming hesitant to break up their conversation, “can I get you something to drink?”

~

Waverly didn’t know where the time had gone, it had flew past, and the sun had set to the backing track of their laughter. Nicole had particularly enjoyed hearing tales of her and Wynonna dodging trouble as children (as an only child in a big country house, a sister was all she’d wanted), and her stories about Jeremy and Chrissy, and living in a house with five other people, (which she confessed sounded a bit much for her – she liked her space.)

Nicole was midway through a story when Waverly’s phone started to buzz, lay abandoned on the corner of the table – Waverly had forgotten it was even there. Waverly glanced over at Nicole apologetic, before picking up the phone.

“Take it,” Nicole smiled that same sweet smile, “it’s fine.”

“It’s just Wy“ Waverly said, rejecting the call, “Go on,”

“Yeah so I was on the phone with the investor-“

The phone buzzed again, and Waverly looked apologetic,

“It’s fine, I’m not bothered,” Nicole smiled.

“Sorry,” she half-whispered, accepting the call. Wynonna’s face popped up on the screen, (or half her face, she was terrible at technology),

“Waves!”

“What?”

“You’ll never guess what me and Dolls saw today,”

“Hey Wy I’m kinda busy –“

But before Waverly could interrupt her, she’d launched into her story, which involved way too many rotten corpses, and _classified information,_ for anyone’s taste, especially when on speakerphone, in public. Nicole could only catch the odd word, Wynonna was speaking so fast, but she could catch the odd word, _blood, get-away, chase,_ she raised her eyebrows, wondering what Waverly had neglected to tell her about her sister’s ‘police’ job.

“Wait-“Wynonna said, “are you in a restaurant?” she said, catching sight of the fancy lights behind her, “Oh my god are you on a date?” she half screamed, her eyes getting wide, earning a dirty look from the woman on the table next to them.

“Wy, I’ll speak to you later.” Waverly said, but Wynonna protested,

“No, let me speak to them!”

“I’m not doing this now Wy-“

“Please! Let me at least guess whether it’s a man or -”

“Talk to you later, Wy.” Waverly rolled her eyes, cutting Wynonna off and hoping she knew better than to try and call again.

“What was that about?” Nicole laughed, and Waverly just laughed,

“You know what it’s like with families.” And Nicole grinned, but she couldn’t help thinking; _no I don’t know what it’s like, not even a little bit,_ her mind drifting to herself as a child wandering around the empty halls. Her father was always at work at his big job, his mother always distant even when in the same room. Her only solace as a child had been a grandfather, his smile big and wide, carrying her on his shoulders, turning their perfectly groomed garden into a wild forest with his imagination, her hands clinging to hers, _painter’s hands._ She shook her head, now was not the time to get into it.

~

They stayed way too late, until even the _nice_ waitress was eyeing them from the counter, letting out small sighs that let them know they’d overstayed their welcome.

Nicole offered to walk her home, Waverly’s hand fitting in hers, the pair of them wandering the couple of streets to the underground station, and Waverly swore she could see stars shining instead of the usual smog and light that hung in the sky.

“So there’s a gallery opening next weekend, sort of like a gala, it’s black tie.”

“Hmm,” Waverly said, trying to focus on the words Nicole was saying instead of the her hand in her own, and the slightly-too-fast beat of her own heart,

“I’d really like you to come,” Nicole said, her voice laced with genuine heart as well as a slight lilt of nerves, “it doesn’t have to be official or anything,” Nicole said, turning to face Waverly as they reached the underground opening,

Waverly felt that slight rise of panic once more in her throat, “I’d love to come!” Waverly said, adding “I’ll bring Jeremy,” before Nicole could get a second word in, Nicole’s face sinking into slight confusion.

_Oh god why did I say that._

“Okay?” Nicole said, and Waverly already regretted saying it, but she’d committed to it now.

“Yeah, he um loves art.” She said, trying to justify her panic statement. (Jeremy in fact had no interest in art.)

“Yeah, the more the merrier, I guess.” Nicole said, wanting to lean in to kiss Waverly, but she was thrown by Waverly wanting to bring Jeremy on their date. _Did she not think this was a date?_

There was a moment of silence, in which Waverly didn’t know whether she was supposed to leave or not. She turned slightly, as if to go down the stairs,

“Hey Waves,” Nicole said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Hmm,”

“I really like you you know,” she said, smiling, moving subconsciously a little closer, increasing their height gap even more, “I um didn’t know if you knew that,”

Waverly smiled again, that same beaming smile as before, big and bright, lighting up their small patch in the surprisingly empty spot underneath the fluorescent lamp post.

“I knew,” she grinned,

“It’s just last time, you know, you sort of bolted?” she said, tilting her head and smiling again as she moved closer.

“Yeah, I know, I’m sorry,” Waverly bit her lip, “But you know, if you wanted to try again, I wouldn’t mind,” she smiled softly.

Nicole leaned closer, gently tilting Waverly’s head closer to her own and cupping her chin with her right hand, before kissing her softly, Waverly’s heart beating faster than she thought was even possible.

Nicole pulled away, smiling.

“So that was nice,” Waverly said quietly, unable to stop a small smile creeping over her lips, “See you soon,” she said, turning on her heel and quickly hurrying down the steps, leaving Nicole (once more) to watch her depart, the light above her flickering over her big grin as she shoved her hands in her pockets, turning and walking the other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I was originally planning for this to be 5 parts, but it's looking like it might stretch a little longer, so we'll see, don't want to drag it out! Thanks so much for reading, and let me know what you thought!  
> As always if you want to chat, my tumblr is waverlystation!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so I know I said weekly updates, but life has been stressful! I've had this written for a little bit though, and already have the next chapter mostly written so from now on it should be going up every friday (and if not every other friday!). This chapter's also a little longer for your wait :) This also contains one too many references to love island but I am INVESTED. Enjoy!

“So it went well then?”

“You could say that,” Waverly smiled, leaning against the chair where Jeremy was eating breakfast,

“Wait!” Jeremy said, his eyes widening, “Is she here?”

“No!” Waverly said, hitting him in the arm, “Not _that_ well.” She smiled, “It was so nice though,” she took a seat next to him, “Did I tell you she’s related to royalty?” she raised her eyebrows and Jeremy spat out part of his cereal,

“I thought when you texted me, s _he’s a princess,_ you were just being sappy?”

“Oh god I’d forgotten I’d texted you,” she felt herself going a little red in the cheeks, “I may nor may not have been a bit tipsy.”

“Called it!” Hazel shouted from the other room,

“Oh god who else knows about the date?” Waverly said, sinking into a chair opposite Jeremy, still wrapped in her giant, fluffy dressing gown,

“The whole house,” Jeremy said sheepishly,

“What? Why?”

“We were watching Love Island,”

“Standard.”

“And they asked me where you were,” he grinned,  “you want me to lie? To my best friends? And my boyfriend?” Waverly sighed, cracking a small smile,

“Fine, I guess they were gonna find out sooner or later anyway.” She paused, “Feels like everyone knows, Wy called in the middle of it.”

Jeremy’s face lit up, “How is she? How’s Doc?”

Waverly rolled her eyes, _real subtle Jeremy,_ (he’d always had a crush on Doc,)

“She’s good, Doc is straight,” she laughed, “as always.”

“That’s not what I meant!”

“Jer, everyone on this very earth knows about your thing for Doc.” Waverly rolled her eyes, moving to open the fridge, surveying its contents, sighing before pulling out a standard strawberry yogurt.

“Even I know,” Jack said, slinking in from the other room and slouching down in one of the empty chairs, “of course I’ve always been a Dolls guy.”

“What is this, a meeting in the kitchen?” Hazel said, entering with a mug in her hands, her hair up in a messy bun.

“Apparently one where we rate my sister’s ex-boyfriends.” Waverly joked,

“She broke up with Dolls?” Jack exclaimed,

“Not yet,” Waverly said. Surprisingly, her sister had not yet grown tired of him, in fact they seemed more in love than ever, which was the last thing Waverly had ever expected from Wynonna, she’d thought she’d be single, pounding shots of whiskey way into her old age. She even had a job now, and a child (even if said child was with her ex-boyfriend, and now-best friend of her current boyfriend.) It was a strange world to live in.

“Well if that’s the discussion, I’m going with Perry,” Chrissy chimed in, their small kitchen becoming more and more crowded by the second.

“A wild card,” Jude said, coming down the stairs, somehow missing the way Chrissy’s cheeks turned a deep red (she had a huge crush on him and e _veryone_ knew, even if they spent the majority of the time pretending they didn’t.)

“Now we’ve all gathered,” Jeremy said, in an exaggerated British accent, placing his hands on the table, “I propose we talk about the date?” he glanced pointedly at Waverly as everyone’s face lit up,

“Yes!” Chrissy chimed in, “I’ll put the kettle on.”

“Nope, not happening.” Waverly said, standing up, trying to get out the kitchen before Jude bundled her, placing her back into her seat.

“Nope,” Jeremy said, grinning, “this is happening, it’s tradition.”

~

Half an hour later, the six of them were sat around in the kitchen (which only had six chairs – of which two were broken, leaving Chrissy and Jude to perch on the countertop).

“What do you mean you told her I’d go with you,” Jeremy said, his voice raising higher and his eyes wide, “there’s no way!”

Jack was stifling a laugh behind his hand,

“You can get me out of it right?”

“I don’t know, and even if I could I wouldn’t,” Waverly said, “I need you there,”

“You need me? To come on a date with you?” Jeremy said pointedly, earning a laugh from the rest of the room,

“It’s not a date, -“Waverly said, unable to finish before the rest of the room groaned,

“We’ve been here before,” Hazel said, taking another sip of her (now cold) tea, “this is how you ended up dating Ella for three months whilst thinking you were just friends?”

“That’s different!” Waverly quipped,

“How?” Chrissy said,

“This is a work gala, and she invited me because I love the gallery,”

Chrissy rolled her eyes, “That might be the most clueless thing you’ve ever said,”

“Oh I can think of worse,” Jeremy said,

“Anyway, you work at the museum and your name’s already on the list-“ Waverly said, “So you better get on renting a suit.”

~

“I can’t believe you’ve roped me into this,” Jeremy said, fiddling with his bow tie as they both stood in front of their standard ‘photo’ wall in their house, Jack at the ready, iphone in hand (because what were friends for if not to take photos for your Instagram?)

“I think you look handsome,” Jack smirked, managing to catch Jeremy’s blush on camera.

Waverly had spent days looking for the perfect dress (and Chrissy had thought she was bad before her last date), before finally settling on a long, dusty pink dress which flowed to just below her knees, paired with strappy silver heels (she could barely walk in). Her hair had even been dutifully curled by Hazel (who was the only person Waverly trusted to do it properly).

Waverly leaned against Jeremy whilst Jack took the photos, as he muttered under his breath, _you two would make the perfect beard couple,_ and Waverly could only laugh, remembering the first time she’d come out to Wynonna as bi, to which Wynonna’s response had been, _but you’re still dating Jeremy right?_ She had practically spit out her drink when Waverly had informed her that Jeremy was a gay.

“Wish me luck,” Jeremy said, placing one last kiss on Jack’s cheek as he and Waverly got into their taxi,

“Have fun third wheeling!” Jack had responded, smirking as Jeremy rolled his eyes.

~

Nicole was already waiting when the taxi pulled up, her red, waved hair contrasting against her black suit, the jacket of which had been embroidered with small silver flowers. Her face was screwed up with stress and she was tapping her clutch bag against her knee but as soon as she opened the taxi door and saw Waverly, her face lit up in a grin. She helped Waverly out of the car being careful that her dress didn’t get caught in the door.

“Hi,” Waverly said, smiling up at Nicole as she placed her hand on her arm, _for balance._ Her high heels made Nicole even taller than Waverly despite her own heels.

“It’s really good to see you,” Nicole said, kissing her on the cheek, “I’m sorry to make you come so early, I’m making a speech, John is a family friend and I’ve offered to endorse him,”

“It’s no issue,” Waverly said, continuing to beam at Nicole,

Jeremy threw his arms up behind them, coughing,

“Oh sorry,” Waverly said, breaking her eye contact with Nicole, “This is Jeremy,”

“Yeah I know,” Nicole smiled, throwing out her hand for him to shake, “You’re in the science department right, you specialise in rocks?”

“That’s me, I also live with Waves,” he said,

“Yes, she did mention that,” Nicole smiled, turning back to offer Waverly her arm, “We should probably head in,” she said, letting Waverly lean on her, the pair of them trying to navigate the cracks on the pavement in heels.

Jeremy wandered behind them, wondering once more why he had let Waverly drag him on what was _so clearly_ a date.

~

Nicole was whisked away by someone as soon as she entered the building, shooting an apologetic glance back at Waverly and leaving her and Jeremy perched awkwardly by the food table.

This wasn’t the first time she’d been to this gallery. One of Waverly’s favourite weekend activities was travelling around the galleries, listening to the commentary, having coffee. Sometimes she dragged Jeremy or Chrissy but most of the time she went with Hazel, who although was studying film had a particular soft spot for art. But when she was busy, Waverly felt no shame in wandering around alone, the art spoke enough for the two of them, and it was where she felt at home. It reminded her of her old home, of the crooked portraits that hung in her aunt gus’ house, (of great-uncle what’s-his-name, and great-great grandma who?) of the front porch where she would stand in front of a canvas, paintbrush in hand all day long, until it went dark and Gus managed to drag her back inside.

Still, she couldn’t help but feel a bit uncomfortable. This wasn’t a weekend stroll round the gallery, this was a gala, filled with mostly old men in suits and their glamorous wives. In fact Waverly knew that the owner of this gallery, the ‘family friend’ was in fact a friend of Nicole’s grandfather, a good fifty years her senior. The art may have evolved, but as for behind the scenes it had been stagnant for some time. It’s why the press had lapped up Nicole, a young lesbian was a far throw from most of the other gallery owners in London. Still, Waverly wasn’t really sure how she did it, stand in rooms knowing she was so opposite to all of her peers, knowing she was the odd one out, _duck duck goose._

Waverly and Jeremy peered at the food table, where there stood crudités and appetizers and amuse-bouches (all of which Waverly didn’t know how to spell.) Jeremy’s eyes lit up as his eyes ran up and down the table, it had been a long time since he’d eaten something other than pasta or cereal if he was being completely honest with himself. He didn’t quite know what to eat first. They both filled their plates, (something Waverly immediately regretted when she noticed that most people weren’t really eating, just picking at one thing.)

“Admit it, you’re having fun.” Waverly said as Jeremy placed _another_ lobster pastry into his mouth, this being the second time they’d walked around the room, admiring the work. Everyone else appeared to be ‘networking’ something Waverly neither knew how to do nor was even sure if she needed to do. _What was her role here?_ The gala seemed to be a lot more exclusive than she’d originally expected.

“I’m not having an awful time,” Jeremy said, and Waverly dug him in the ribs as the lights dimmed.

And there Nicole was on stage, a single light forming a sort of spotlight, all the nerves from half an hour ago melted away. As she spoke, everyone in the crowd was enthralled, and Waverly couldn’t blame them, she spoke with confidence, her lull the kind of voice that it wouldn’t matter what she was saying, you’d lend an ear. But of course, what she _was_ saying was important, she gushed about the opportunity she’d been given to bring a new element to the art district, introducing John as a man who’d been bringing innovation to the community for years (which Waverly thought was maybe a stretch but she wasn’t about to say that.)

When she reached the end of her speech, she called John on stage, to a spattering of applause. She beamed before descending the stairs, catching sight of Waverly in the crowd, her face softening as she began to make her way over her, before a woman with her hair scraped back into a tight bun, and a pinstripe suit pulled her aside, and Nicole was forced to once more shoot Waverly an apologetic glace.

~

John’s speech was over, everyone was mingling, and Waverly was worrying it was becoming increasingly obvious she didn’t really belong there. A couple of men had furrowed their brow looking over at them, and Waverly was starting to curl her hair round her fingers, like she did when she was nervous. After all, there was a total of about ten young people in the room, all of them high-profile, bar Waverly and Jeremy. Plus, there was a time limit on how long her and Jeremy could pretend to be having ‘a very serious business conversation’ before cracking up (they’d taken to discussing love island in hushed tones and hoping no one overheard them.)

Waverly was in the middle of speculating about the episode they were missing when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Smiling, she span around, expecting Nicole, her face falling slightly before regaining her signature smile.

“Not who you were expecting?” The man said, grinning. Waverly would place him in his thirties, sharp suit, classic hipster beard, very attractive in a way that was startling, (Jeremy would later inform her that he was the curator at one of the more well-known museums in London.)

“No, it’s nice to meet you,” Waverly said, trying to regain her posture, ever striving to be polite.

“Daniel, Daniel James” he paused, waiting for a reaction and Waverly feigned acknowledgment,

“Oh of course,” she smiled, “I’m Waverly, and this is my friend Jeremy,” she said, Jeremy managing to sputter a hello whilst looking entirely thrown by the more-god-than-man figure who was before them.

“What do you do?” he said, throwing on a smile that could only be described as charming,

“I’m an art-history student actually at SOAS,” she smiled,

“I study rocks,” Jeremy blurted, earning a confused glance from Dan, as Waverly tried to stifle a giggle, poor Jeremy was struggling; she’d have a whale of a time teasing him about it later.

“Ok…” Daniel said, “so what is such a pretty woman doing here?” he drawled, and it clicked, _he was flirting with her,_ maybe she really could be clueless.

“Oh,” Waverly said, thrown a little, had he moved closer to her or was he always standing that close? “I’m here more as a friend really,”

“A date actually,” came a voice from behind her and Waverly spun to see Nicole, who seemed to have put a protective arm around her shoulder, making Waverly’s heart race,

“Oh,” said Daniel, looking Waverly up and down, “who’d have thought it,” he said pointedly, shaking his head as he walked away. Nicole’s face narrowed into a hardened glare, and Waverly could tell if she wasn’t at an important work event, she would have yelled after him.

“I hate that guy,” she hissed under her breath,

“hmm” said Jeremy, clearly broken from his trance, “Seems like the kind of guy who’d ask to watch whilst you kissed but doesn’t believe in marriage equality,”

“Exactly,” Nicole smiled at Jeremy, and he nodded in gay solidarity. Nicole inched closer towards Waverly,

“I think that’s my cue to leave,” Jeremy grinned, watching the pair of them.

“No you can stay if you want,” Waverly said, but even she could tell it was half-hearted,

“I’ll get a taxi, don’t worry,” he smiled, “Jack’s still awake wanting to know all the gossip anyway.”

“Nice seeing you again,” Nicole said, holding out a hand for Jeremy to shake, before Waverly pulled him in for a big hug,

“Thanks for coming again,” she said, to which Jeremy whispered, _hope you get lucky,_ into her ear, and Waverly would have shoved him had Nicole not been _right there,_ and she had not been surrounded by very important business people who were already beginning to notice Nicole’s arm around her shoulder.

Waverly watched as Jeremy left, turning around and waving at her as he exited through the door.

“Hey,” Nicole said softly, “can I show you something outside?” in a way that indicated that there was indeed _nothing_ to show her outside, but Waverly herself was starting to feel stifled in the room, and so with several elderly eyebrows arching, they left through the back double doors, Nicole managing to expertly swerve the press (she’d spoken to them enough already), and pretending not to see several people trying to talk to her.

The air outside was brisker than before, night settling into the corners, shy stars beginning to come out, and swirling music and light spilling from the doors, a flickering lamp in the courtyard lighting up their faces as they walked further away from the gala, Nicole’s arm around her shoulder.

They paused, leaning against the corner of the wall, and Nicole took her jacket off, draping it over Waverly’s shoulders.

“Thanks,” Waverly said, “I don’t do well with the cold, usually need at least three blankets,” she smiled, small nerves bubbling to the surface

“Sorry about tonight,” Nicole said, glancing at the floor

“What about it, I had a nice time,” Waverly smiled, “I promise,”

“I wanted to spend time with you,” she said inching closer to where Waverly stood against the wall, “but instead you ended up stuck with _Daniel,”_ she said his name like it was poison in her mouth.

“Are you jealous?” Waverly smirked, noting all the signs, swooping in on their conversation, the arm around her shoulder, the sudden change of location.

Nicole was silent.

“You are,” she smirked, “I mean he was handsome,”

“Don’t even joke,” Nicole said, leaning so one arm was against the brick wall, around the side of Waverly’s head. “I hate that guy,”

“He’s not my type, I promise, too slick, I’ve learnt the hard way slick guys always have something to hide,” she said, trying to keep her voice even as Nicole leaned closer, “What’s your deal with him anyway?”

“That’s for another time,” Nicole said, “I’ve been waiting all night to kiss you,”

“So why don’t you then?” Waverly teased, placing a hand on the back of her neck.

And Nicole leaned forward, pressing her lips against Waverly’s in a kiss that was _decidedly_ less sweet than their last one, placing a hand on Waverly’s hip and pushing her slightly further against the wall as she deepened the kiss, feeling Waverly grip tighter at the back of her hair.

They broke apart, grinning at each other.

“So, you wanna get out of here?” Nicole said, a spark in her eye as if she were a sixteen year old playing hooky from school rather than an adult leaving her own business gala. But something about Waverly excited her in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey so I originally thought this was a little all over the place / dialogue heavy at the start but I think it's managed to come together nicely?  
> Thanks for reading!  
> my tumblr is waverlystation if u want to chat and I've started using my old twitter again; hazelclace   
> Have a nice day!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really ahead of the writing, so it feels like ages since I wrote this? That being said I have two festivals in the next two weeks and I just got back from Edinburgh and then I'll be in Greece so I don't know what's going to happen to the uploads, hopefully I should be able to post the next chapter next Thursday and then after that I don't know. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

When Waverly woke up she had a startling notion that she was not where she was supposed to be. Her own room was small, tree branches stretching along the length of the window and blocking all the natural light, but here sunbeams were spilling through dark grey curtains draping an entire wall. In fact just the space from her side of the bed to the window was bigger than her entire student room. She lay for a moment in confusion, rubbing her eyes and as she tried to blink her eyes awake, she began to remember the night before.

Nicole holding her hand tight, dragging them as they both laughed into the back of a taxi. Nicole making out with her against the taxi window, and Waverly not even caring about the driver who kept shooting them looks. Her back against Nicole’s front door as Nicole fumbled with the keys, trying to unlock the door without taking her lips off of Waverly’s. Waverly laughing as Nicole hoisted her around her waist, the fabric of her dress hiking up her thighs. Nicole smiling down at her. A blush ran over her cheek, as she smiled at the memory of it.

She hadn’t had time to take in the apartment last night, it had been dark and she’d been somewhat _preoccupied,_ but in the morning light she was astounded. The bedroom alone was _huge_ equipped with at least three pieces of art that Waverly was sure were originals, and the bed appeared to be bigger than a king size. She wasn’t even sure what you called that, _emperor? All mighty ruler?_ All she knew was the silk sheets were soft against her. _Chrissy was gonna freak._ She rolled over to see Nicole awake, watching her, a small smile creeping over her face, as Waverly inched closer to her. She felt surprisingly nervous to be here, in a bed, naked, with Nicole Haught. Which was ridiculous considering the events of the night before, but in a way this felt even more intimate. The concealing dark had been stripped, the makeup worn off, the dress disappeared, all of the armour peeled away, as if the girl from last night was an entirely different person.

“You okay?” Nicole said,

“Fine,” Waverly smiled, but it must not have been convincing because Nicole inched closer to her,

“What’s up?” she said, leaning against the pillow,

“It’s just, a big step you know,” she took a deep breath, “I really like you and that’s scary I guess,” she smiled shyly.

“I like you too,” she smiled, “and that’s scary for me too,” she edged a little closer, as if she were testing the waters, Waverly closing the gap and placing a sweet, chaste kiss on Nicole’s lips. They smiled at each other in the dim morning light, and Nicole opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, but she was cut off by the shrill of Waverly’s phone (again). Waverly closed her eyes in frustration,

“Shit,” she said. _Why does this always happen to me._ The thought of getting out of the warm bed, where Nicole lay was agonising, but the loudness of the ring got the better of her. She sighed, “Do you remember where I put my bag?”

Nicole smirked, “I think it’s on a chair over there,” she said, and Waverly blushed as she scanned her eyes over the floor, where there clothes still lay strewn from the night before, obvious evidence of their _fun._ She had half a mind to ask Nicole to turn around as she tried to find her underwear, as ridiculous as the notion probably was. She could feel her face was bright red as she crouched on the floor, pulling her underwear on, stood practically naked as Nicole admired her, one arm slung over her chest, _and her phone was still ringing._

She tilted her head, “Can you help me?” she laughed at the absurdity of it all, yesterday she was hesitant to even call it a date, and now here she was waking up in Nicole’s bed, “do you have a t-shirt or something?”

“And how would that benefit me?” she smirked, “just come back to bed,”

Waverly rolled her eyes, “If it’s Wy on the phone she’ll never stop, I promise you.”

“Fiiine,” Nicole said, “t-shirts are in the top drawer over there,”

“Thank you,” Waverly said, very conscious of Nicole’s following eyes, she pulled a t-shirt out of the drawer, grey with _girls_ written in pastel pink letters. “Are all your t-shirts lesbian themed?” she laughed,

“Pretty much,” Nicole said, as Waverly tried desperately to make her hair look normal and _not_ like she’d had _incredible s_ ex and just woken up.

“It’s Wynonna,” she said, as she pulled her phone out of her bag, “Of course.”

She pressed accept but didn’t realise her camera wasn’t on front-facing, and was in fact pointing directly at a fully naked Nicole.

“Hey Wa- wait where are you?” Wynonna said, her voice getting higher, a giddy undertone to it, “omg you’re at someone’s place –“ _Shit._ She hung up quickly. _What had she done?_ Waverly stood still, staring at her phone as if it were the scene of the crime. In the bed Nicole howling laughing,

“It’s not funny Nicole,” she said, but even she had started to laugh, _because of course this would happen to her._ She shook her head slowly as she laughed.

The phone rang again,

“Wow she’s so persistent.” Nicole said, pushing herself up on her elbows and leaning back against the headboard, Waverly trying to ignore the fact that her entire bare chest was on display,

“You don’t know the half of it,” she said, texting Wynonna quickly (she had 100+ unread messages from her house group chat, 30 from Jeremy individually and 16 from Chrissy that didn’t bare thinking about, she supposed word got out quick.)

_Yes I am at someone’s house, yes it’s the same girl from the date the other day, No we can’t talk about it now. Hope you’re okay._

She turned her phone off, throwing it back down on the chair before crawling back into bed with Nicole.

~

Waverly didn’t have any clothes to change into, since riding the underground at 3pm in a ball gown would scream _walk of shame._ Nicole had let her keep the _girls_ t-shirt, but Waverly was still scrabbling around in Nicole’s wardrobe desperately trying to find any pants, which was incredibly difficult considering their considerable height difference. In the end, she found some corduroy shorts that _just about fit._

“Wow what a look,” Nicole laughed, buttoning a flannel, which she’d thrown over a pair of dark skinny jeans, “a very gay look,” she paused, picking something up off of the dresser, “here,” she said, tossing a cap that also had _girls_ inscribed on it (this time three times over) at Waverly, “I don’t think it’s complete without this,” she laughed,

Waverly raised her eyebrows, turning back to look at herself in the mirror once more, “these shorts are terrible,”

“To be fair they look good on me,” Nicole said, placing her arms around Waverly’s waist as they both looked in the mirror,

“I don’t doubt it,” Waverly smirked, turning around to kiss Nicole, leaning upwards as Nicole cupped the back of her head. Nicole deepened the kiss before Waverly pulled away,

“Hey, I really do need to go,” she said as Nicole fake pouted.

“You have to?” Nicole said, flashing the exact same eyes that had convinced Waverly to stay longer about a dozen times that morning,

“I have to,” she said, “I have a mountain of dissertation work, and if I don’t answer Wynonna soon she’ll probably fly all the way here from the middle-of-nowhere America,” she joked, although she wouldn’t put it past Wynonna. “But,” she said.

“But?” Nicole echoed,

“Seen as Wynonna’s already seen you,” she grinned, “I have a presentation, next week, she’ll be there with her boyfriend, and I think some of the gang are coming as well,” she paused, “I’d love it if you came?” she said, her hopeful eyes looking up at Nicole, her arms still around Waverly.

“I’ll be there,” Nicole smiled, kissing her once more by the door before she left.

~

When Waverly finally got home, she was still on the phone to Wynonna, despite the half hour round trip on the surprisingly busy Sunday tube.

So far conversation topics had included (but were not limited to);

  * Screaming about Nicole (Loudly. On the tube.)
  * Waverly confessing Nicole was rich (echoed with a not-subtle _yes_ from Wynonna)
  * Wynonna informing her that she, Dolls, Doc and Gus (Waverly wasn’t even surprised everyone knew) had a wager going on Nicole’s hair colour because Wynonna couldn’t tell from the short clip (Waverly dragged that one out before telling her Nicole was a red head, which apparently meant Dolls owed her a twenty).
  * Wynonna trying to get Nicole’s full name so she could google her, to which Waverly finally gave in and Wynonna was _delighted_ with how many articles came up. (Wynonna was shocked by how hot she was, and kept repeating; you’ve done well.)
  * Wynonna letting her know that Waverly’s ex-boyfriend Champ had been rejected and humiliated by the new barmaid at Shorty’s (she particularly enjoyed _that_ )



Wynonna was avidly discussing the last case her and Dolls worked on (in _gory_ details that made Waverly want to throw up the pancakes Nicole had so graciously made her) when Waverly walked through the door, and was met by Jeremy and Jack running down the stairs, desperate for the gossip (was there nothing that could be secret in her life?.)

“Gotta go Wy, Jeremy’s wanting to know what happened,” she rolled her eyes, staring at Jeremy and Jack who were edging closer to her like hungry puppies.

“Can you put me on speakerphone when you tell them?”

“No, Wy.” Waverly rolled her eyes,

“Fiine, love you bye, see you next week.”

“Love you too.”

“So…” Jeremy said, and Waverly took a seat, looked like she was in for another story-telling session.

~

“That’s worth dragging me to a gala just to ditch me, I’ll give you that,” he grinned, by now Jude and Hazel had also gathered around,

“I knew it,” Hazel grinned, punching her in the arm,

Waverly rolled her eyes, “Can I finally go get dressed?”

“Why?” Jeremy said, “I think the cords are cute,”

“I love you, Jer, but you wouldn’t know fashion if it hit you in the face,” she smiled, leaning back a little on the kitchen chair.

“Rude,”

“But fair,” Jack grinned,

“Fine, but fair.” Jeremy agreed.

The back door opened, revealing Chrissy, three grocery bags in her arms,

“A little help please?” she said, as Jude took all the bags from her. Her eyebrows furrowed,

“Wait why are we all gathered in the kitchen?” her eyes lit up, “Is there gossip?”

Waverly sighed, facing the fact she may never get to change out of her clothes (not that she minded smelling like Nicole, if she was being honest.)

“Oh my god, you’re blushing,” Chrissy grinned, “Spill.”

And so Waverly started all over again, the groceries lying abandoned on the kitchen counter.

~

Waverly barely had time to talk to Nicole all week, the end of the year was drawing near and the stress of university had tripled. Her supervisor wanted to see her twice a day, all her lectures were suddenly of pivotal importance, her exams were coming up and she was desperately trying to cram the names of dead artists. She spent nearly every day (and night) in the library, head down, her phone turned off in her bag. As much as she longed to talk to Nicole, they were on completely different schedules, and they just kept missing each other. Waverly would slave over her presentation all day, turn on her phone at midnight when she’d finally had enough (on good day), and reply to Nicole who would be asleep, and would reply at 6am when she woke up for her job, which meant they only had broken conversations. Waverly missed Nicole. Which was something she hadn’t been expecting. She kept trying to find excuses to go the gallery but she couldn’t justify it, and the one day she did she got hardly any work done, wandering around hoping to ‘bump into’ Nicole who later informed her she’d been in meetings all day (but she _did_ manage to have lunch with Jeremy – being the only one in their house not at university he’d missed them all.)

And so, when the day of the presentation rolled around Waverly was nervous for more than one reason. She’d gone over her cards all morning (driving the half of her housemates who didn’t currently live at the library mad), and now she could only hope it could go well. But of course, that was only half of her problem, she still had to see Nicole. Her stomach was jumping around, she wasn’t used to feeling so intensely for someone, and especially someone she’d slept with and then not spoken to for a week.

As she approached the building, she could already see her, Nicole’s back turned to Waverly, Waverly initially was confused what was happening before she realised she was on the phone. She continued to wander over to her, planning to call her name before she realised Nicole was arguing with whoever was on the other end. Waverly froze in her tracks, standing awkwardly still, unable to think of what she should do next.

She couldn’t really tell what was going on, hearing only Nicole’s half of the conversation,

“I’ve offered you to come up to the gallery –“ Nicole said, running her hand through her hair in frustration.

“It’s not hippy leftist crap, and it’s not ‘nothing but ruins’,”

“It’s important to me mum, surely that’s what matters?”

“I don’t need you to set me up,” she sighed,

“He’s not a nice guy, and I’m a lesbian mum I don’t know how many times –“

“I’m not being rude, you setting me up with guys is being rude to me,”

“I don’t care how much you like Daniel, I’m seeing someone else.” Nicole sounded exasperated, her voice wobbling,

“Of course it’s a woman,”

“Well if you don’t like it you don’t have to speak to me,” Nicole said, raising her voice,

“Fine,” she hung up the phone, shoving it into her pocket and sighing heavily, throwing her head into her hands before turning around, her eyes widening like a deer caught in headlights.

“Waverly –“ she said, her face red, “I didn’t see you there,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading, hope you enjoyed it!  
> If you want to speak to me/ cry over the fact that Wynonna Earp is back SO SOON my tumblr is waverlystation and my twitter is hazelclace,  
> Hope you have a nice day!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I know I said Thursday but I don't have another free day to upload this, so here you go. Also Wynonna Earp Season 3 ep 1 has aired and I CAN'T WATCH IT bc I'm in the UK welcome to AGONY. (ugh).  
> Anyway, hope you enjoy this!

“Are you okay?” Waverly said, holding out her arms, and letting Nicole rest her head on her shoulder,

“Fine,” Nicole said softly,

“Be honest,” Waverly said as Nicole pulled away from the hug,

Nicole bit her lip, “It’s just my mum,” she says, “I forget you know,” she paused, deliberately not making eye contact with Waverly, “like I know what she’s like but I still miss her, and every time I ring her I hope for something different, for how it was when I was a kid,” she shook her head, “it’s dumb,”

“It’s not dumb,” Waverly smiled up at her, and Nicole didn’t think she’d ever met anyone who was so warm, so inviting. Waverly seemed to radiate positivity, and for the first time in a long time she got the sense that she could talk to someone, could be herself and Waverly would listen, would still love her. The thought brought a small tear to her eye.

“Here sit down, I have some time, speak to me,” Waverly smiled,

“Shit-“Nicole said, “It’s your presentation I can’t dump this on you right before,”

Waverly smiled, “You’re nice, but it’s fine, I’m super early, and this,” she took Nicole’s hand in her own, running her thumb softly across the back of her hand, “is more important,”

Nicole looked at Waverly apprehensively and she nodded, softly, letting her know it was okay.

“My mum’s never accepted me for anything,” Nicole said, taking a breath and not looking directly at Waverly, “she never got me, she wanted me to be a proper young lady, to go to dinner parties instead of playing on the football team, and to have long hair,” Nicole shook her head, she was speaking fast now, the words spilling from her mouth like a waterfall, “she wanted me to find a ‘nice young man’ and settle down,” she took a breath, “she was furious when I got the gallery, she said running business was a man’s job and that no man would ever want to marry me, and,” she took a breath, trying to stop herself from crying, but she could already feel the tears on her cheeks, Waverly holding onto her hand a little tighter, “and when I told her that I didn’t want to marry a man, she ordered me out of the house, told me I wasn’t welcome any more,” she took a deep breath, her voice hitching,

“That’s terrible,” Waverly said, inching closer to her once more,

“I thought she’d gotten over it,” Nicole continued, “not too long ago, she rang me up and invited me for dinner and I thought she wanted to apologise – talk it out,” she shook her head, laughing at the absurdity of it, “she wanted to set me up, with Daniel,” she spat, “his parents are wealthy – he’s next in line to own some big business somewhere, I had a big fight with her and when Daniel realised that I was gay he started being horrendous to me, calling me a dyke,” she said, and Waverly’s nostrils flared in anger as she wrapped her arms around Nicole again, “he was the one who leaked it to the press,” she whispered, “I don’t care that much now – but I still can’t stand Daniel, and he still insists on bad mouthing me to everyone I have to work with,” she took a deep breath, breaking the hug and wiping her tears away, “it just sucks, me and my family were never close, I was only ever close to my grandad, and now I have no family at all,”

And it broke Waverly’s heart a little to hear that. Waverly’s own family might not be conventional, maybe her dad and her sister were dead and her mother was missing, but she had Wynonna, both of them made from the same beating heart, and she had her Aunt Gus who’d always been there for her, plus she had all her family she’d picked up along the way. She dreaded to think of Nicole, a lonely child in isolation, the constant pressure of her parents, rejected by her own family, and everyone she knew.

“Hey,” Waverly said softly, a small tear escaping her own eye, “you have me,” she grinned, “and Wynonna and Jer, and Chrissy, Hazel, Jude, Jack,” she laughed, “we take in all waifs and strays,”

And Nicole smiled a little, “I appreciate that,” and Waverly leaned up to kiss her, soft and sweet, Nicole could feel Waverly’s hand against the back of her neck, and she felt warm inside, and she felt happier just from being nearer,

“And I appreciate you,” Waverly said smiling, running her thumb along Nicole’s cheeks, where tears still hung.

They heard a cough from behind them, Wynonna grinning,

“I’m not interrupting anything am I?”

“Wy!” Waverly said, jumping off the sofa, and running at her, hitting her with full force and wrapping her arms around her, Wynonna rolled her eyes, but Nicole could tell that she was happy to see Waverly.

“Dolls!” Waverly said, throwing her arms around him,

“Good to see you Earp,” he said gruffly, but a massive smile spilled across his face, his eyes lighting up.

“You must be Nicole,” Wynonna said, looking Nicole up and down, “you look different with your clothes on.” She smirked.

“Wy!” Waverly shouted, knocking her in the shoulder, as Nicole felt her face go a similar colour to her hair, _what must I look like,_ she thought, her eyes swollen, her face as red as a beetroot.

Nicole stuck out her hand, hoping that her eyes weren’t giving her away, this was not _quite_ how she’d imagined this meeting would go, “Nice to meet you,”

Wynonna ignored the hand, “You’re family now,” she said, pulling her in for a hug and slapping her on the back, “dammit you are taller than me,” she cursed, “we couldn’t find your height on the internet,” Wynonna laughed, “I can still fight you though,”

“She doesn’t mean that,” Waverly said, rolling her eyes,

“I do,” Wynonna said, her eyes hardening, “I mean it – if you ever hurt her,” Dolls rolled his eyes, trying to pull Wynonna into the hall,

“That’s probably enough of that,” he grinned, “nice to meet you Haught,”

They left, Dolls pushing Wynonna into the hall behind them, Nicole still reeling.

“I don’t really know what to say about that,” she said, smiling. Waverly grinned back at her,

“They’re crazy, I apologise,” she laughed, “you better go join them, I have to go now,”

“Good luck!” Nicole said, placing one last kiss on Waverly’s cheek before leaving through the same doors Wynonna and Dolls had just left through, which felt oddly like walking towards two hungry lions.

~

The presentation went well, or as well as Waverly was expecting at any rate. There were slightly more people in the room than she’d originally thought, and when it was over, she was stopped by a couple of different academics who wanted to know more about her thoughts. She could gush all day about art and her ideas, but she was very conscious that she’d left Nicole alone with her sister, and Dolls, and seemingly every single one of her housemates who’d shown up to support her. She was half trying to talk to a man with a hipster beard who wanted her to write an article for his blog – and was half trying to get a look at Nicole who looked like a small fish surrounded by hungry (if harmless) sharks.

“Are you okay?” the man said, and Waverly immediately turned to look at him,

“I’m sorry, yes of course,” she said, putting on her signature smile, and watching the man’s face relax once more, “I’d love to, it’s a great opportunity, can we can discuss this more over email?” Waverly said, pulling a small piece of paper out of her bag, scrawling her email on it and handing it over.

“I look forward to it,” the man nodded, and Waverly was finally able to make her way over to where her friends stood gathered.

Wynonna threw herself at Waverly,

“That was so great babygirl!” she said, squeezing her shoulders a little _too tightly,_ until Waverly wasn’t sure whether she was red from embarrassment or a lack of ability to breathe.

“Did you just give that guy your number?” Jack said, one arm around Jeremy’s shoulder and Chrissy nudged him in the ribs,

“Stop trying to stir shit Jack,” she said, her eyes widening,

“Actually I gave him my email,” Waverly said, and she saw at least three people not-so-subtly side eyeing Nicole, “not for that reason!” she said, smiling at Nicole, “he wants me to write a piece for his website,”

“Ah that’s so great, my little sister’s a celebrity!” Wynonna said, loud enough that several academics turned their heads, a few even cracking a smile, as Waverly began to wish she was small enough to slip through the cracks in the floor.

“It’s not that big of a deal Wy,” Waverly said, but she was secretly very pleased with the outcome.

“It is, congrats,” Nicole said softly, and Waverly blushed. She wanted to go to her, wrap her arms around her, but all her family, blood or not, were here, and the last thing she wanted to do was give them more ammunition for them to tease her with.

~

Waverly didn’t quite know how they ended up there, but three hours later all of them were in their fourth bar of the night, and Chrissy was dragging Jude onto the ‘dancefloor’ (which in reality was just a patch of floor in front of the bar). Most of them had finished with exams and even Hazel didn’t have one for a few more days, so they were _celebrating._

And if Waverly was perfectly honest with herself she was more than a little drunk. Nicole had bought them a round of shots, and Wynonna, never one to be outshined, had bought them another round (or rather Dolls did under Wynonna’s instruction) and s _omebody_ had come up with the bright idea to play truth or drink (which was probably why Chrissy had dragged Jude onto the dancefloor). Nicole figured this was especially unfair towards her, considering everybody else knew everything about each other, and before she knew it she found herself a little more wasted than she’d intended to be, _and_ everyone had died laughing over her childhood crush on miss piggy. She was chatting on to Wynonna about the men she worked with every day, and Wynonna was agreeing enthusiastically about all of the perils of working in a male-dominated environment, Waverly whispering with Chrissy and watching from a distance, before Nicole knew it Wynonna had challenged her to an arm wrestle and they had knocked what was left of Jude’s beer all over the floor, the pair of them howling with laughter in the corner booth as if it were the funniest thing they’d ever seen. Then a song came on that Wynonna claimed she would never miss the opportunity to dance to and she disappeared, dragging Dolls with her (watching deputy marshal Xavier Dolls try to dance was something else, he was great at a lot of things, but dancing wasn’t one of them). Before too long the rest of them peeled off, Chrissy pulling Hazel up to dance to a classic ‘no scrubs’, Jeremy winking at Waverly as he and Jack wandered over to the bar.

Waverly nuzzled herself closer to Nicole,

“Did everyone leave,” Nicole slurred, looking down at Waverly with the biggest smile Waverly had ever seen,

“They’re here somewhere,” Waverly smiled, moving so that she was in a position to kiss Nicole in the darkened bar corner, she pushed herself so she was basically sat on Nicole’s lap, kissing her, but as Waverly tried to deepen the kiss, Nicole pulled away, and Waverly frowned,

“You really were great at your presentation, baby,” Nicole said, grinning, her face still close to Waverly’s,

“Thanks, baby,” Waverly said, moving to kiss Nicole again before she pulled away,

“I mean it, you’re going places,” Nicole smiled again, and Waverly practically beamed, her girlfriend (in her drunken mind that’s who Nicole was to her) constantly breaking away from kissing her just to tell what a good job she had done was a little too cute to handle,

“I love you, you know,” Waverly said, looking into Nicole’s eyes. And maybe she would regret it in the morning, maybe she would no longer feel that way, but for right now, it felt right,

“I love you too,” Nicole said, and she thought, right in the back of her mind, that she might be feeling pure happiness, lightning in a bottle, she wrapped her arms around Waverly’s waist and pressed her forehead against Waverly’s.

“We shouldn’t have to see that in public,” came a very loud voice from the edge of the booth, and Waverly turned to see Daniel, that same smarmy expression written across his face, and Waverly could tell from his eyes that he was a little bit drunk,

“It’s none of your business,” Waverly said, feeling Nicole go still underneath her,

“You’re making it my business, by doing _that_ in a public bar,” he growled, turning a few heads from around them, but Waverly knew it was way too loud in there for anybody to _really_ hear him, and she was betting he knew that too.

Waverly felt Nicole move, and held her back,

“He’s not worth it baby,” she said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Baby,” Daniel spit, a glossy layer of hatred in his eyes, and even as Waverly held Nicole back, she too wanted to leap at him, to let him know that he’d messed with the wrong family, messed with Nicole for the _last time,_ but instead she just stayed still. It was one thing to think about doing something in theory, and another to have a figure looming above you, glaring down at you, a dark shadow.

“I can’t believe they still let you run that gallery,” Daniel laughed, “it’s a joke.” The pair of them stayed silent. “It’s one thing for a woman to run it, but a dyke?” he laughed loudly and Waverly saw rage spark in Nicole’s eyes, but before she could do anything, Wynonna came looming from behind him.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her classic darkened expression falling over her face, “what did you just say?” her voice harsh, _this could be bad._  And either Daniel hadn’t picked up on her tone, or he just didn’t care, because he said,

“I was just telling these dykes that-“ but he didn’t even have time to finish his sentence before Wynonna had punched him in the face, her knuckles becoming covered with blood as three security guards (and Dolls) rushed over trying to restrain her (but not before she’d completed it with a swift kick to the balls). Daniel crumpled into the side of the bar booth, Wynonna kicking and yelling as they hauled her out onto the street, leaving Waverly, Nicole and Dolls to trawl (somewhat sheepishly) behind them. Waverly folded herself back into Nicole’s side as Dolls held Wynonna back, curses still streaming from her mouth, Nicole leaned back against the brick wall, breathing heavily. And to Nicole’s horror, there was a single flash, and the not-too-friendly grin of the journalist behind it. She could picture the headlines already,

_Nicole Haught outside bar, bloody with new girlfriend, while Daniel James is left injured._

“Oh shit,” she said under her breath, Waverly’s eyes widening as she turned to see the camera. _Shit, indeed._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading, please comment and let me know what you thought!  
> my tumblr is waverlystation and my twitter is hazelclace come chat to me!  
> Have a nice day!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I may be 3 weeks late but at least it is a friday!! Sorry I've been super busy but this should be going back up once a week on a friday from now on, just two more chapters after this! It keeps getting longer lol cos i just can't write super long chapters... anyway here you go;

When Nicole woke up she had a startling notion that she was not where she was supposed to be. Her normally spacious, dark room was bathed in morning light, she could hear someone arguing out of the window, and Waverly was lay across her, her long hair falling across her face. She squinted her eyes in the light, wanting to throw an arm over her face, only it was trapped under (a very much still asleep) Waverly. She took in Waverly’s room piece by piece, her own room was much bigger, that was for sure, but it was functional, well-designed, Waverly’s room was _messy,_ and Nicole loved that. Not dirty, just jumbled, photos were scattered all over the walls, candid shots of all her friends lay on the floor, shots of her and Wynonna smiling, her and some friends sat on top of a snowy hill (featuring a rather peculiar looking man in a cowboy hat), and then faces that Nicole didn’t even recognise. She thought back to her own room at home, quiet, functional, expressionless, she wouldn’t have been allowed photos on the walls even if she had had friends, she was trapped in a small little bubble, wanting to explode all over the walls, wanting to express herself. Just looking at the walls she could tell how _loved_ Waverly was. She knew she was special, had felt the warmth radiate from her, could feel it now as she lay in her arms. And maybe her head was pounding like it was knocking on heaven’s gates, and she’d had way too little sleep, but right now she was content, flat lined, nothing special and everything all at once. Nicole wouldn’t change it for the world.

~

She could hear people downstairs arguing, and was just debating whether it was worth moving to see what was going on (even if the prospect of slinking out of Waverly’s room and being faced  with potentially seven people was too daunting), when Waverly began to stir, her neutral face crinkling into a smile when she saw Nicole.

“Morning,” Nicole said softly,

“Morning,” Waverly said, shifting herself so that she was lay fully on Nicole’s chest,

“I thought I might get to move now you were awake,” Nicole grinned, “Guess not,”

Waverly smiled, “Not quite so lucky,” she said, placing a small kiss on Nicole’s lips,

“Hmm, I might just be the luckiest,” she grinned, moving her hand to tuck a piece of Waverly’s hair behind her ear.

The arguing came again from downstairs.

Waverly rolled her eyes, “I’m sorry, it’s hardly luxury,”

“I love it,” Nicole said, without missing a beat, and Waverly blushed, parts of the night returning to her memory, the whispers in the dark, the way Nicole was slightly louder when drunk, slightly bolder, less still and more free, and the way it made Waverly feel, the pair of them curled in the corner, and _those words_ being whispered into the bold night air. And then the rest of the night came to her, like a bullet cutting through the darkness,

_“Shit,_ ” she whispered,

Nicole furrowed her brow, “What?”

“Did all that really happen?”

And Nicole scrunched her eyes in confusion, before Waverly could see the realisation dawn across her face, “Fuck,” she said, and Waverly rolled off her, as Nicole sat up, her head in her hands,

“I think it did,” she said, solemnly, staring down at the mattress,

~

When they left Waverly’s room, the arguing was still going on. Nicole pulled back on her clothes from yesterday, a noticeable beer stain across her baseball tee, and Waverly pulled her dressing gown from where it hung on the back of the door, lacing her hand in Nicole’s. When they got down to the kitchen, Jack, Jeremy, Wynonna and Dolls were all perched on various items of furniture, Wynonna and Jeremy passionately arguing about something whilst Dolls and Jack shot each other raised-eyebrow-looks behind their backs.

“What’s going on?” Waverly said, raising her eyebrows as Jeremy quickly closed his phone, placing it face down on the table.

“Nothing,” Wynonna said quickly, her eyes drifting to where Nicole and Waverly’s hands were joined and Waverly quickly pulled her hand away as Wynonna laughed,

“Clearly it’s something,” Waverly said, using her now free hand to cross her arms, attempting her best ‘stern’ face, something she’d learned early on from Aunt Gus when Wynonna would come in at all-hours of the night, drunk from god knows where.

“There’s an article,” Dolls said, in a matter-of-fact tone, met with a death glare from Jeremy,

Nicole sighed heavily, “from last night?” she said,

Wynonna nodded, “I wanted to tell you, Jeremy reckoned it wouldn’t help anyone,”

“Let me see,” Nicole said quietly, and Jeremy sheepishly handed her the phone,

_Haught seen laughing as James is left bruised and bloodied_

_Was it too good to be true? Is it the end for London’s youngest gallery owner?_

Everyone’s eyes were on Nicole, Waverly leaned closer to her, wrapping her arm around her waist as she read over her shoulder. Waverly thought it might be the only time the house had been so silent, it hung in the air, flickering like a lightbulb. And then Nicole began to laugh, somewhere deep from within, and Wynonna shot a look to Waverly, _has she lost her mind?_

“Are you okay, babe?” Waverly said, letting go of Nicole’s waist,

“Good,” she said, still laughing, “does anything matter anymore?” she laughed again, and even Waverly began to smile,

“You’re crazy, you know that?”

“I think I might be,” Nicole said, grinning down at Waverly,

“Hey if I’ve caused you any grief, I apologise,” Wynonna said, holding her hands up, “I can’t control myself when people hurt my family,”

“It’s fine,” Nicole grinned, “watching you hit Daniel was maybe one of the best moments of my life,” She grinned at Wynonna and Wynonna grinned back, turning towards Dolls,

“I like this girl,” she said and Dolls just shook his head and grinned,

~

“I should probably go,” Nicole said, a few hours later, her hands curled around a cup of coffee that had long gone cold, Waverly tucked against her shoulder, the credits rolling on a trashy old movie that apparently reminded Waverly of her teenage years (her mouth had hung open with shock when Nicole said she’d never seen it.) This was something of a hungover tradition, Hazel had dragged herself away to the library, but otherwise they were all there, in various states of aching, a sliver of light drifting through the thin curtains, tangled over each other. It was the kind of casual hang out Nicole had longed for as a teenager, time soft in the air, lying on the floor, a ball on unwoven anxiety, rather than the long planned ‘hang outs’ which usually involved Nicole sat stiffly on a sofa opposite someone in her ‘good dress’ whilst her parents bragged in the next room.

“You have to go?” Waverly said, looking up at her and pouting and Nicole sighed, turning her phone back over from where it lay face down against the arm of the sofa. She had three missed calls, one from the museum director, one from her mother, and one unnamed one which was probably a news outlet trying to get into contact with her.

“I think it might be time to face the music,” she rolled her eyes, “but now it’s my turn to not have any clothes to wear,” she laughed,

Wynonna raised her eyebrows, “and when exactly was it Waves’ turn?” she smirked, Waverly’s face turning red. Nicole floundered a little, catching a sympathetic look from Jeremy and having no idea how to respond to it, “you better catch me up later,” Wynonna said pointedly.

“Fine,” Waverly sighed, “for now you can loan Nicole your clothes,”

“Oh no you don’t have to do that,” Nicole said quickly,

“British people,” Wynonna grinned, standing up from where she’d previously been perched on Dolls’ lap, “always too apologetic, what are you gonna do Haught? Walk home in your underwear?” she raised her eyebrows, “come with me,” she said, as Nicole sighed, untangling herself from where she lay half under Waverly, shooting her an apprehensive glance before she followed Wynonna up the stairs.

~

Nicole lingered by the back door, now dressed in black jeans and a black fraying t-shirt with ‘born to ride’ scrawled across it (Waverly had conveniently ‘not yet washed’ Nicole’s own clothes that she’d ‘borrowed’). She stood with her hand on the door handle, looking at Waverly and then turning to look at the rest of the people still gathered in the small kitchen. Waverly smiled, turning around,

“Do you mind giving us a second?” she said, smiling sweetly at her family, Wynonna rolling her eyes but all of them pouring back out of the kitchen door.

“What will you do now?” Waverly said softly, taking Nicole’s hand in her own,

“Go home, call people back, get dressed, meet with the museum director I guess,” she said, running her hand through her hair, the stress visible across her face. She looked back down at Waverly and smiled, “I don’t really want to think about it,” she bit at her lip before leaning down to kiss Waverly, her hand holding onto Waverly’s hip like it was a piece of ice and she was adrift in the north sea, her one salvation, Waverly’s hand curling through Nicole’s hair, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

“You’re a good distraction,” Nicole smiled, pulling away, “I could stay all day?” she proposed, laughing, “You could _distract_ me?”

Waverly smiled, Nicole’s hand still on her hip, “As promising as that offer is, you need to go, sort this out, finally get your revenge on Daniel, the whole shebang,” she grinned, “And _I_ have to do the final touches on my dissertation, whilst trying not to daydream about you,” she smiled, leaning up to kiss Nicole again, this time softer, pushing her towards the door with purpose, “See you later?” she said, arching her eyebrows as she opened the door for Nicole.

“Definitely,” she said, calling out _bye t_ o the rest of them,

“See you Haught!” shouted Wynonna from a place that was definitely a little too close to the kitchen door for Waverly’s liking. The door shut behind Nicole, and Wynonna sauntered in,

“ _So,”_ she said, arching her eyebrows, “I hear you have some stuff to catch me up on?”

~

The first thing Nicole did when she got home was look at her bed longingly. But now was no time to catch up on much-needed sleep (unfortunately), now was the time for action. She rummaged through her drawers, peeling Wynonna’s clothes off her, and throwing them in the laundry basket. Then she rifled through her wardrobe, finding her favourite suit and lying it across the bed. _Now was the time for work._ She looked at herself in the mirror, trying to muster confidence, practicing her stance as she fiddled with the buttons on her phone, her fingers drifting over Arthur’s number, it was time to ring the museum director, to plunge herself into reality.

~

Before she knew it she was on her way to a meeting at the museum. Arthur had called her in to deal with _recent media attention,_ and she was twiddling her thumbs on the underground, a missed call from her mother still rattling around on her phone. _Now was not the time for more emotions._ As much as she tried to focus on the meeting, on who might be there, on what might happen and what she might say, her mind kept slipping, flashing images of Waverly. In just a few months, the girl had slowly come to mean more to her than anybody had in quite a while, and the thought scared Nicole to her very core. She’d spent years with half-hearted relationships and even longer pushing people away. But there was something about Waverly that had drawn her in, a moth to a flame. She’d spent years in rooms with people who were cold, and rigid like a collection of stalagmites, pretty to look at, and valuable too, but still firm, unmoving. Waverly wasn’t like that, she was a flame, she couldn’t be held in a glass box to be looked at by the tourists, she wasn’t rigid she was somehow everywhere at once, drifting through the air, tiny little flames like pieces of angel dust. She was everywhere, _including Nicole’s heart._ Her mind flashed to the bar last night, the pair of them entangled together in a way that felt like not much had before, and then she remembered the words that were spilled in the darkness, and she smiled. Because maybe they were young, and maybe they were dumb, but happiness fizzled in Nicole’s chest like a jar full of fairy dust, and what more could she really ask for?

~

There were four men in the room, their suits all nearly identical, a different pocket square, a slightly shorter tie, a slightly different shade. Among them was Daniel, and Nicole stilled a little when she saw him, his smirk gone from his face, and his eyes saddened, beaten down. He was playing the victim, trying to get a rise out of Nicole, and as Nicole clenched her fists a little harder, her knuckles whitening like a sheet faded in the sun, she hoped it wouldn’t work.

She took a seat, slowly lifting the glass of water that had been provided to her lips, hoping her hands wouldn’t shake.

“ _So,”_ Arthur began, decidedly less cheery than the last time Nicole had seen him, he was a good friend of her grandfather’s, they’d gone fishing once when she was a child. But the normal warmth that flickered behind his eyes was gone, in fact he was avoiding looking at her all together. “Normally we might have reprimanded you, Ms Haught,” he said, his hands twitching slightly, “but seen as Mr James has decided to press charges,” he said, Daniel smiling just slightly witnessing the small look of shock that came over Nicole’s face, before returning to his solemn expression, “we have to take this more seriously.”

Nicole took a deep breath, noticing the eyes on her, waiting for a response,

“What are the charges?” she said, softly, trying to keep herself together.

“Assault,” the balding man sitting next to Daniel said, as Arthur bowed his head towards the table.

Nicole opened her mouth to speak, but another man in a suit placed a hand on her arm, “I’d advise you not speak at this time,” he stated, “you’ll have a chance to defend yourself at the trial,”

Nicole’s mouth hung open once more, “There’s going to be a trial?”

“Not a trial with a jury,” the man (who she would later learn was her work-issued lawyer), “it’s a work hearing,” he said, as if Nicole could process the difference at this time, “Mr James is not suing, he is requesting you be let go from your position at the gallery.”

“The gallery’s mine,” Nicole said slowly, it felt as if everything was moving in slow motion, she couldn’t process what was happening before something else started,

“Yes, technically you would still be the owner, but the museum director gets the final say in who gets to be the manager,” her lawyer explained, “in who gets to be the face of the gallery, your position should Mr James win the trial would be purely a financial one, you would be restricted from being involved with any decisions surrounding the gallery.”

Her lawyer was still talking but Nicole had stopped listening, her brow furrowing, a small amount of bile rising in her throat. She caught the odd word, _witnesses, a week from now, temporary suspension until the hearing date,_ but mostly her surroundings had turned to static. Daniel was trying to remove her from her world of work, he was trying to claim _she_ had attacked him. She took a deep breath, _and he would probably win._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed!  
> My tumblr is waverlystation and my twitter is hazelclace. I'm considering taking prompts so if u wanna come chat / prompt me feel free! (let's see if i can do regular writing shall we)  
> Hope you have a nice day :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so originally this was gonna be the trial and the outcome but I got carried away (are u sensing a pattern?) so u can have whatever this is instead, (notice the amount of chapters constantly going up, i promise 9 should be it now!) hope u enjoy it! Also i have an ear canal infection lol so i wrote most of this with a hot water bottle pressed against my ear so u r welcome for that!

_“He’s doing what?”_ Waverly said, her breath fogging in front of her, a perfect little cloud against the night sky. Her phone was clutched to her ear as she descended the library steps. She’d spent the whole evening placing the final touches on her dissertation, _which was finally done,_ (she still couldn’t quite believe it). Completely elated she had reached for her phone to call Wynonna, the moon starting to settle in the sky (she’d stayed a little longer than she had intended), but instead she had found several missed calls from Nicole, immediate concern washing over her face.

Nicole was crying on the other end, sobs rattling like creaks as the reception crackled. Waverly swore she could hear slurring, she’d had enough calls with Wynonna to know when someone on the other end was drunk, after all.

“He’s trying to charge me, with attacking him,” Nicole hiccupped, “he wants me kicked out,”

“He can’t do that,” Waverly said, quickening her step, anger lacing her voice.

“Apparently he can,” Nicole said,

“Wynonna can confess,”

“I’m not sure it’d be enough,” Nicole said quietly, “I spoke with my lawyer, apparently it’s very easy to discredit witness who were known to be drunk at the time,” she took a breath, speaking very matter-of-factly despite her emotional state, “and apparently Daniel has several witnesses who are claiming to be sober, and are claiming they saw me attack him,”

“Bullshit,” Waverly shouted, ignoring several stares that were shot her way,

“I know,” Nicole said, still crying,

“Baby where are you, are you at home?” she paused, biting her lip, “I’m going to come round.” Waverly said, firmly enough that she knew Nicole couldn’t say no,

There was a beat of silence, “See you in a bit,” Nicole said softly,

“See you,” Waverly said, hanging up. She got to the tube stop just as the train arrived, fluorescent lights illuminating her as she ran a hand through her hair, the train carriage rattling as she stared blankly into space. _When did her life get so complicated?_

She sent Wynonna quick text;

_Sorry won’t be about tonight, Nicole needs me._

She only felt slightly guilty, Wynonna was in England all week after all, and she knew her and Dolls had planned to do touristy things all night anyway (and by touristy things she meant hit up some of the London pubs).

_Wow you get a new royal girl and suddenly you forget about us all huh?_ Wynonna texted and Waverly grinned,

_But seriously hope all is ok. Keep me updated._

_Will do. Speak to you later._

_~_

When Nicole opened the door she was in her pyjamas, a grey t-shirt hanging from her shoulder over tartan sleep shorts and Waverly could tell she’d been crying; her eyes were red and puffy.

“Nicole,” she said softly before leaning into her chest, clutching onto Nicole’s back and feeling Nicole wrap her arms around her, allowing her to settle into her chest. Waverly didn’t know how long they stood there like that, barely moving, just clung to each other like life boats, feeling the sea swirl around them. Two jigsaw pieces pressed together in Nicole’s hallway, the light flickering above them.

They broke apart.

“ _You didn’t have to come,”_ Nicole said softly, staring at the floor,

“Nonsense,” Waverly said, smiling and taking Nicole’s hand in her own, “I wanted to come,” and Nicole smiled at her, a sad sort of smile, wobbling like water, a fragility in her eyes that Waverly had never seen before. And despite the fact that she towered above Waverly (and this was one of the things she liked most about Nicole) in that moment she looked so small, all Waverly could do was lean up, pressing a small kiss on Nicole’s cheek and peering round her like a door,

“So what boxsets do you have?”

~

_You didn’t have to you know,_ Nicole said, sitting across from Waverly now at her dining table (that had enough seats for six, but had never been used the entire time Nicole had lived there.)

“You need to stop saying that,” Waverly said, grinning, “I know I didn’t have to, _I wanted to.”_ She too was now wearing some of Nicole’s pyjamas, the top almost comically big on her (and boasting a football team that Nicole was shocked Waverly had never heard of.) They’d spent several hours watching _Buffy_ (Waverly had been delighted to learn that Nicole had a seven season box set), before Waverly had gone to the shop (Nicole’s shelves were surprisingly bare) buying enough food to feed a small army, before setting about the task of making the very same chilli her aunt Gus has always made her when she was feeling down. And sure, it might not have tasted _exactly_ the same, Waverly was convinced half the taste came from being back home anyway, from a roasting fire and a picture of her mama on the fireplace, but Nicole was still smiling, which is all she really wanted.

The simple act of making the meal reminded Waverly of that very first night, the way Nicole had slunk off early to make her breakfast, and her beaming smile when she had returned, and to think this was only the beginning of their relationship was more than a little dizzying. Just looking at Nicole across from her, and the way her messy red hair fell across her face, Waverly knew she was already in too deep.

“You like it?” she said, tilting her head just a little.

“I love it,” Nicole said, smiling, and Waverly might have felt her heart swell just a little bit. They held their eye contact for a little too long, the rest of the scene becoming blurry around them.

“So,” Nicole coughed, “what were you doing at the library so late?” she said, placing another forkful into her mouth,

“I was finishing my dissertation actually,” Waverly said, smiling just a little, “I finished it tonight,”

“No way,” Nicole beamed, relishing in the blush that bloomed across Waverly’s cheeks, “I’m so proud of you, baby,” and the slip of the nickname, accompanied by the slight flickering of the forest scented candle, that swung shadows across the dimly lit room, was enough to make Waverly feel as if she were in love. Which couldn’t be possible. It hadn’t been long enough. That’s what her rational brain told her, but her heart stared straight at Nicole and was fill fit to burst, her heart dreamt of white wedding under the star beams.

But she didn’t say any of this, instead she simply said _thank you,_ reaching out to entwine her hand with Nicole’s across the table. And it was a small gesture but one that made Waverly’s heart skip all the same.

~

When Waverly woke up she was curled tightly in Nicole’s arms and she was starting to think she could get used to it. The soft morning light trickled through the slightly open curtains, and everything was perfectly warm, she could feel Nicole’s light breath against the back of her neck. Of course, she would also have to get used to Wynonna interrupting because her phone was ringing again, Nicole beginning to stir beside her.

“Sorry, baby,” Waverly said in a whisper and the nickname made Nicole smile a little even in sleep. She reached to pick her phone, immediately switching it off camera mode.

“Hi Wynonna,” Waverly said, half rolling her eyes,

“Baby girl I can’t see you,” Wynonna said, waving her phone the picture getting blurry, “Dolls why can’t I see her?” Wynonna was about as good at technology as Waverly was being sneaky apparently.

“She’s got it turned off,” Dolls said, half smirking, rolling his eyes towards the camera.

“Why is your camera off, Waves? You trying to hide something? Oh my god are you naked?” she said, her eyes widening,

“Fine,” Waverly said, putting the camera on, catching the view of herself, hair all over the place, covers pulled up to her chin,

Wynonna only laughed, “I know what _spending the night with Nicole_ means babygirl you don’t have to hide from me,” she was properly laughing now, relishing the red blush that spread across Waverly’s cheeks, “where is haughtshot anyway?”

“Asleep,”

“Not anymore,” came a grumbling voice from beside her, and Waverly shot her an apologetic look, Wynonna screaming down her ear first thing in the morning was probably _not_ what she needed, not what anybody needed in fact.

“Hi Haught!” Wynonna said grinning, “Anyway while you were spending time with red, we were busy having _fun_ ,” she grinned before proceeding to launch into a story about her, Dolls and Jeremy doing a ‘pub crawl’, which apparently involved chasing someone who they _thought_ was Tom Hiddleston down a very much cobbled street before realising it was just a look alike (that explained the hoarse voice then, was Wynonna ever not hungover?)

“You must have scared him to death,” Waverly shook her head,

“Hey you’ll be in the paper next,” Nicole warned,

“Oh shit yeah, how did all that go?” Wynonna said, switching to her ‘concerned’ voice (which was slightly diminished by the fact that only her forehead was in frame – Wynonna was _not_ good with technology)

“Not well,” Nicole half laughed, and Waverly placed a hand on her shoulder.

They explained the situation to Wynonna, her face gradually getting angrier and angrier, her lip curling into a snarl, until she threw the phone across the room, leaving Dolls to pick it back up. He was angry too but much more practiced at hiding it, Waverly could only tell from the slight twitch of his left eyebrow, and only because she knew him well, only because his arms around her reminded her of home and instantly made her feel safe.

“We’ll sort it,” he said, his voice gruff as Waverly could hear Wynonna swearing like a truck driver in the back ground, she feared for the life of her cushions if she was being perfectly honest. “We’ve got you Earp,” he said, smiling slightly before clicking off the call, throwing a knowing nod in Waverly’s direction. A nod that said, _you can trust me._ And Waverly knew that she could, Dolls had never once let her down, she didn’t think it was possible.

Nicole’s head was on her shoulder,

“Hear that?” Waverly said, smiling, “Dolls has got it,”

“What do they do for work anyway?” Nicole said, her forehead crinkling, her eyebrows raising slightly in suspicion.

“Oh that’s a long story,” Waverly laughed, “and not something you have to concern yourself with, and _anyway_ ,” she said, turning her head to face Nicole, “aren’t I suppose to be _distracting_ you,” she smirked, “since we’re both free now.”

“I think I remember something like that being discussed,” she grinned back at Waverly, moving to close the gap between them.

~

When Waverly returned back to her house, it was with Nicole in tow, their hands entwined as she opened the door on what can only be described as a scene from _Oceans 8,_ everyone spread in different positions all over the kitchen, a drink in each of their hands,

Wynonna grinned upon seeing them, “Oh boy have we got good news for you, baby girl.” Her eyes drifted, “Haught’s here too, even better.” She said, her eyes practically sparkling.

“Wow, hit me.” Waverly said, all eyes on her and she moved towards the table, hand still entwined with Nicole’s behind her.

“Guess who was snapchatting that night,” Jack said, practically jumping off the walls,

“No,” Waverly said, her eyes widening, “did you get anything?”

“You can betcha ass I did,” he said, grinning and Waverly let go of Nicole’s hand to fully hug him, practically knocking Jeremy out with her elbow in the process.

“Thank god for drunk you’s obsession with snapchat am I right?” Jeremy said, knocking him in the shoulder,

“Well can I see it?” Waverly said and Wynonna threw her the phone, Nicole crowding over her shoulder to see the video.

_Jeremy and Jack were screaming into the camera along to baby got back at the bar, Jack’s arm slung around Jeremy as they both shouted the words, Jack raised the phone up behind him and we see Daniel stood over Nicole and Waverly,_

Next video

_The song still continues as Jack kisses Jeremy on the forehead, in the background Wynonna can be seen squaring up against Daniel, we briefly see him get closer to her, spitting at her face, Wynonna swings and hits him in the face before security guards rush in._

Waverly grinned, “I actually can’t believe it,” she turns to Nicole who still looks stunned,

“Of course we’re all gonna testify anyway,” Wynonna added quickly, “but there’s no way you can lose now, boy’s club be damned,” she grinned,

All eyes fell upon Nicole her mouth still hung open a little, her eyes welling up just a bit.

“You’d all do that for me?” she said.

Waverly wrapped her arms around Nicole’s waist, “Of course we would,” she said, smiling, “you’re in the team now,”

Real tears fell from Nicole’s eyes. Here were eight people she’d known for less than a few weeks, and yet she’d felt more love from them than she ever had from her own family. Here were eight people she barely knew willing to give their time up for her, who were going to be there for her, whether she asked them to or not, and she couldn’t quite believe how lucky she’d gotten.

“Oh, baby don’t cry,” Waverly said, reaching up to stroke the tears away with the back of her thumb, which only made Nicole sob more. She never cried in front of anyone but this was a moment for her,

“I think this calls for a group hug,” Jeremy said,

“No way,” Dolls protested,

“Nope you’re joining in, no escaping,” Wynonna said, winking at him. They all piled in, Waverly feeling herself getting crushed between Nicole’s chest and the onslaught of people moving towards them,

“I knew you were soft, Haught,” Wynonna grinned as Waverly dug her in the ribs, “What I’m just saying,” she protested, Waverly rolling her eyes.

“And what about you Wynonna,” Nicole said, breaking away from the group hug, “He could still try and prosecute you,”

“I’d like to see them try,” she laughed, a wild sparkle in her eye that reminded Waverly of Wynonna betting out-of-towners that she could stay on the mechanical bull the whole three minutes (which she could), that slight mix of confident swagger and dark power, “this proves he’s a liar,” she said pointedly, “and we have several character witnesses to prove it was provoked, not to mention,” she winked in Nicole’s direction, “I never lose,”

Nicole turned to Waverly, whose arms were still wrapped around her waist, “Okay now you’ve really got to tell me what your sister does for a living,”

~

Nicole slept at Waverly’s house every night that week. Waverly didn’t believe in not having enough space apparently, they’d squeeze in somehow (their table may only seat six but then when did they ever all sit at it anyway?) They ‘forced’ Jack and Jeremy to share a room so Wynonna and Dolls got their own bed, and Nicole just slept with Waverly anyway (it’s a good job the landlord never paid them a visit.) Nicole hadn’t been around this many people maybe ever, and the constant chattering of the house took some getting used to, the whole place was alive, moving, heartbeats in every wall. It was a far cry from the house she grew up, but Nicole was dizzy on the _warmth_ of it all. Waking up next to Waverly doesn’t take any getting used to however, Nicole has never felt anything so natural, as if there was never a time when she woke up alone. She wakes up every morning to Waverly smiling and every morning she wakes up asking what she did to deserve it.

Wynonna and Waverly took the task of distracting Nicole very seriously. She hD three days until the hearing, and Waverly pretended she didn’t know anything about London, making Nicole take her and Wynonna and Dolls all around the sights, like some phony kind of tour guide. Nicole protested but she secretly loved it. She loves her city, it’s rolling ancient spires right next to modern skyscrapers, and when she got carried away reciting history and Wynonna complained Waverly shushed her, and looked up at her like she’s interested in every word she’s saying (which she is). They hold hands walking by the river thames, and on the London eye as Wynonna rolled her eyes. And although this is potentially the most unstable Nicole’s ever been, career-wise, she’d never felt so secure, she found herself forgetting entirely about the trial, happy just to banter back and forth with Wynonna and roll her eyes towards Dolls. Happy in general. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, pls comment and let me know what you thought! The more I write of dolls, especially dolls/waverly the sadder i get also :( (but it's fine :))  
> again i am accepting prompts here or on my tumblr waverlystation / twitter hazelclace.  
> Hope you have a great day and enjoy the episode tonight!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has actually been written for ages, but I'm late uploading bc I prioritised writing an Earpmas fic before the episode this week! (go read it, subtle plug) But I've edited this now so it's two days late sorry about that, hope u enjoy!

The morning of the trial Nicole felt a wave of anxiety. Her and Waverly had gone back to her flat the night before, her suit hung on the back of the door, staring at her expectantly. She sat up in bed, clenching her fists, feeling her heart race a little, nerves scratching softly at the inside of her throat. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. The alarm clock on the bedside table read 6:15; she didn’t even need to be up for another half an hour. Beside her, Waverly slept peacefully, her long hair flowing over the pillow case, her eyelids fluttering slightly in sleep. Nicole got up quietly, closing the bedroom door behind her. She felt the anxiety still in her throat, felt an urge to scream and run, to be out in the open air. Sneaking back into the bedroom, she quietly threw on some jogging bottoms and a vest top, quickly texting Waverly before leaving out the front door.

The sun was just barely up, soft orange light streaking across the sky, as if the buildings themselves were being dipped in a pale pink river. The morning air was sharp, and Nicole felt her legs start to move against it, picking up the pace, a small amount of fog gathering in front of her face. As she continued running she felt the anxiety seep from her, falling down the cracks in the pavement, the wind like a firm hand pushing her forward. She turned left, running through the park. It was just a little _too_ early for the early morning rush, and seeing her neighbourhood, usually so busy with business people in suits and children on their way to school, almost empty was a special experience, as if she’d gone back in time to a time before people had to rush around, when everything was a little bit simpler, just the sky above her and the pavement below. By the time she rounded the corner back to her flat, a small smile had even made its way onto her face.

“Waves,” she said, wandering back into the bedroom where Waverly was still lay asleep, “Hey Waves,” she whispered softly, letting a hand run across her hair as she perched on the end of the bed. Waverly startled awake, almost hitting Nicole in the face with one of her flailing arms,

“Am I late?” she said, her voice a little hoarse,

“Late for what?” Nicole smiled as a small blush ran over Waverly’s cheeks,

“Just dreaming,” she said, her eyes running over Nicole, “have you been running already?” she asked, eyes drifting to the alarm clock, “before 7am? I hate you and your productivity,” she scowled,

“I also made breakfast if you want any,” she smirked, and Waverly threw a pillow back over her head, “I hate you,”

“You don’t mean that,”

“No I don’t,” and the words were right on the tip of her tongue, but before she could say them, Nicole had already left, leaving Waverly to drag herself out of bed and follow Nicole, the smell of pancakes drawing her in like a zombie.

~

Waverly gripped Nicole’s hand on the tube and she could feel her pulse beat through her wrist. _It’ll be okay, baby,_ she whispered in her ear, earning a weak smile from Nicole in return. The whole carriage was filled with business men on their way to work, tapping their shiny black shoes, drifting asleep on their hands, pretending to read the morning paper. Waverly stood out like a sore thumb in her casual black dress (she hadn’t exactly known what to wear for a my-girlfriend-is-being-accused-by-a-homophobe work trial), like she was Nicole’s wife, joining her at work for the day ‘just to look around’ before returning back to her art studio. The thought made her smile as the train pulled up to the station.

~

They met with Wynonna, Dolls, Jack and Jeremy outside of the gallery. Nicole had only been allowed three witnesses; Wynonna, Waverly and Jack. Waverly had no idea how formal of an affair this was going to be, but peering through the small glass window she could see several people sitting at a long table. Arthur was already there, sat at the head of the table with Daniel, his lawyer and several other people Waverly assumed were Daniel’s ‘witnesses’. Nicole’s lawyer walked down the corridor, shooting her a reassuring glance, her hand clutching onto Waverly’s just a little tighter than before.

“Ready to go in?” he said, and Nicole nodded.

~

“So Ms. Haught,” Arthur said after they’d taken their seats, “you’re here today to dispute Mr James’ claims that you assaulted him a week ago?”

“Yes sir,”

“And you’re aware of the consequences, given we’ve already discussed them?”

“Yes sir,”

“So this is how it’s going to work, I will individually talk to everyone, starting with one person from Mr James’ side and alternating until finally I will talk to the both of you and make my decision, is that clear?”

“Yes sir,” came an echo from the room,

“Okay so you’re all dismissed apart from,” he paused a moment, looking down at the sheet of paper in front of him, “Mr Richards,” he said, nodding towards a man who sat to the left of Daniel,

~

Nicole sat, her knee knocking up and down, in the room next door witness after witness. Here she was, just one wall away and yet she had absolutely no control over what was happening. Daniel sat at the other side of the room, although Nicole wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of even looking his way (even though Waverly swore he looked a little nervous). People wandered in and out of the room, coming back with various snacks and drinks from the vending machine. Wynonna had got enough snacks to feed a small army and was currently playing slaps with Jack seemingly completely unfazed by the trial going on next door, but when Nicole had asked Waverly about it all she could tell her was ‘she’s been in more high-risk situations’ whatever that meant.

They called Jack in before another one of Daniel’s witnesses, until it was Waverly’s turn. She kissed Nicole lightly on the cheek, high fiving Wynonna’s outstretched hand before following the guide to the room next door.

“Waverly Earp,” Arthur said, smiling softly, he seemed much more relaxed than the last time she’d seen him, a bit more like the man Nicole had described, maybe the evidence Jack had shown him had lightened the load just a little. “I’ve seen you around here before, am I right?” he said, his expression friendly,

“Yes, I love coming to the gallery, I’m an art history student,” she paused, “and my best friend Jeremy works in the museum so,”

“Ah yes, Jeremy is very knowledgeable, we’re very lucky to have him,” he smiled, “So I’d just ask you to recount your story of the night?”

And with that Waverly launched into her story, describing in detail their _conversation_ with Daniel in the bar,

“And so you would say Daniel verbally assaulted you?”

“Yes, as I said before, he made several homophobic comments, and his tone was rather threatening,” she said,

“And do you believe this the first time Mr James had used such words against Nicole,”

“I don’t think so, at the gala, a few months ago, he indicated he was unhappy with Nicole’s sexuality, and from what she’s told me before-“

Arthur interrupted her, “I’m after first-hand accounts only, Ms Earp,” he said, “Nicole will have a chance to defend herself later, but thank you,” he said “and you, having a better view than the video that was shown to me, support the fact that it was your sister who attacked Mr James, and only your sister?”

“Yes, Nicole never laid a hand on him,” she said, a fierceness behind her eyes,

“Thank you very much Ms Earp,”

~

Waverly wasn’t allowed to return to the room after giving her testimony and so her and Jack waited in the museum café, an untouched cappuccino slowly going cold in her hands.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Jack said, but Waverly was only half listening, her eyes staring intensely at the door.

Jeremy and Dolls had left before the trial even started, headed to one of the local pubs. According to Jack, Jeremy’s eyes had lit up when he asked him, he’d practically _shone_ with excitement.

“Which like who can blame him because that man is so hot…” Jack said, trailing off as Wynonna walked through the door, a grin lighting up her face. “It went well?” Jack said, handing her her regular triple shot black coffee,

“There’s no way that shit ticket is getting his way this time,” she grinned, turning towards Waverly expectantly, her face falling when she spots the concerned expression still hanging on her lips. “What’s up baby girl?” she said, “This one is in the bag I know it,” she sat down on the chair, leaning over the table and taking Waverly’s hand in her own,

“We don’t know that yet,” Waverly said, her voice wobbling slightly, still refusing to look Wynonna directly in the eyes,

“Baby girl,” Wynonna sighed, “the man lied, straight up, he’s obviously just trying to discredit Haught’s character, that much is so obvious,” she said, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

“But the gallery is so important to Nicole,” Waverly said softly,

“And she’ll still be able to run it, I know it,”

“You don’t know how difficult it is, Wy,” Waverly said, feeling tears start to gather in her eyes, “Nicole’s one of the only women, the only queer woman, they resent her for that, when we were at that gala, you could feel it in the air, they were…” she took a breath, “it was like they were waiting for her to fuck up,” a small tear fell down her cheek. Wynonna’s eyes widened just a little, a glimmer drifting across them as if she were realising something for the first time,

“You really care about this girl huh?” she said, and Waverly looked up from the table,

“I- I love her,” she said quietly, and Jack let out a low whistle, Wynonna shaking her head fondly,

“You’re in deep, baby girl.”

~

Nicole was the last one left in the room, and she swore the silence was talking to her. She could hear the vending machine humming just outside the door, could hear the lightbulbs buzzing, each little tap of her pencil against the table. She ran her hands through her hair one more time, and took a deep breath.

A knock at the door.

_He’s ready to see you now._

It was make or break time.

~

“Ms Haught,” Arthur said, nodding at her as she entered,

“Mr Goldberg,” she said, taking a seat, trying to ignore the way the pencil shook in her hand.

“I’ve heard everyone’s points of view, I’m sure I know what you are going to say, but you have a chance to defend yourself now, then Mr James will be called back in, and I’ll discuss the final results, understood?”

“Understood.”

~

“I have since been informed through evidence that it was in fact Ms Wynonna Earp who assaulted Mr James,” Nicole let out a breath of relief, not missing the small smile that twitched onto Arthur’s face, “I should let you know that Mr James is now attempting to claim you _also_ assaulted him,“ he paused, “I am not at this moment allowed to inform you my opinion of this new claim,” he said, tilting his head in such a way that indicated that he thought it to be _bullshit._ Nicole could hardly keep herself from grinning. Maybe, just maybe, this could swing her way.

“My question, however,” Arthur continued, adjusting his tie slightly, “is whether you believe any violence on the part of Ms Wynonna Earp was justified?”

“It was in reaction to horrendous homophobic comments aimed at her sister and me, yes.” Nicole said, trying to keep her voice even,

“Ms Waverly Earp indicated that she did not believe this was the first time Mr James had made such comments,” Arthur said, looking at her pointedly. Nicole felt a sweat scratch at the back of her neck, her collar suddenly tight at her neck, her fingers lacing together underneath the table,

“This was not the first time, no.” she said quietly, not quite looking Arthur in the eye.

“Could you elaborate?”

“Mr James has made such comments on many different occasions,” she said, pausing, “in fact almost every time I have encountered him since first meeting him in my parents’ home five years ago, he has either made such a comment or suggested his disgust,” she felt herself speaking faster, gaining confidence as more and more words spilled into the air in front of her, “I believe it to be a personal attack, sir, as this trial was.” She said, finally making eye contact with Arthur, who was unable to stop the smile spreading across his face. He wanted to reach out and comfort her in a fatherly way, or more a grandfatherly way, to say he was proud of her, that her own grandfather would be proud of her, but Nicole’s lawyer was sat in the corner, so instead he sent her a subtle wink.

“That will be all, thanks Ms Haught, I will invite Mr James in now,”

~

“So,” Wynonna said, her voice breathy, her eyes fixed on Nicole as she exited the hearing room,

“You were right,” Nicole grinned, still a little dazed, “he got tore apart,”

“Fuck yes,” Wynonna said, earning a disapproving stare from Nicole’s lawyer, and Waverly jumped her, throwing her arms around her, allowing the tears to come on full force now,

“Hey,” Nicole said, laughing just a little, allowing the elation to fill her like a balloon, “why are you crying?” she laughed, tears starting to form in her own eyes,

“I was just worried for you,” Waverly said, looking up at her through her tear-stained eyelashes,

“Waverly’s very _sensitive,_ ” Wynonna said rolling her eyes, and Waverly didn’t even have the energy to hit her, because she was looking in Nicole’s eyes and Nicole was looking back down into hers.

“No, because I care about you,” she took a breath, “because I love you, Nicole,” she said, and she was sure the grin that fell across Nicole’s face was the prettiest thing she’d ever seen in her life,

“I love you too, Waves,” she said, leaning down to kiss her, right there in the middle of her workplace, in front of Waverly’s sister, in front of her lawyer and Arthur and Jack. And maybe it wasn’t the ideal setting, but they’d never really had good timing, the words had first been spilled in the drunken darkness, had been ignored come morning after all. It wasn’t ideal at all, but as she pulled Waverly a little closer to her, Waverly running her hands through her hair, it felt perfect to Nicole and she swore the lightbulb above forms a perfect little spotlight just for them.

Wynonna coughs, raising her eyebrows, and Waverly broke apart from Nicole, flipping her the finger.

“I walked in on you and Doc like five times, you can’t even talk,” she said, arching her eyebrows, her hand still entwined firmly in Nicole’s and she hoped she never had to let go,

“Oh wow we’re going there?”

“Shut up the both of you,” Jack said, rolling her eyes,

“Exactly,” Nicole said, “now are we celebrating or what?”

“Of course we are Haught,” Wynonna said, throwing her arms around her shoulder, “I do believe Dolls and Jeremy are already half drunk in a pub somewhere,” she laughed,

“Well it’s time to catch up,” Nicole said, turning around and catching Arthur’s eye through the glass. He offered her a small wink, and she nodded back in solidarity, before turning around, letting her friends gather around her like armour.

~

“It’s good news I take it?” Jeremy said, his voice slurring a little, Waverly could tell he was already several drinks in,

“Only the best news,” Wynonna grinned,

“This calls for a celebration!” Dolls said, “Drinks on me,” he said, clapping Nicole on the shoulder, “now spill it, Haught,”

Waverly smiled up at Nicole as she ushered her into the pub booth Dolls and Jeremy had been sharing, all eyes on her, the six of them pressed together in the corner, Nicole smiled wide before beginning the story all over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Hope you have a good day! Let me know what you thought, only one chapter left! Also am still kinda reeling from the christmas ep? was everything i ever wanted ??  
> My tumblr is waverlysangels and my twitter is hazelclace and I'm currently taking prompts!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we've reached the end! Thanks so much for sticking with me! This is an epilogue of sorts, and one I've had planned since the start (this was originally going to be 3 chapters ??) It is a little late, but it's quite a bit longer than usual and I wanted to get it right! Hope you enjoy :)

It had been a while since Waverly had been here. The ceiling still sloped the way it used to, its gold plaited edges shimmering as the light fell through the sky light, forming a perfect line, like the stroke of a paint brush. Her favourite paintings surrounded her, a perfectly crafted eye staring at her from a golden frame, a rose wilting, unnoticed in the background, her legs swinging underneath the bench as she leant back against the wall. It felt odd to be here without her laptop, without her big stack of papers, without her stress hovering over her like a guardian angel. Her old study spot had been abandoned in the rush of graduating, in the rush of job interviews and starting at a new job. Three different museum directors had offered her jobs as an art curator, including the man who’d came to see her presentation. It was somewhat overwhelming, and Wynonna had just rolled her eyes over face time, _only you could be stressed about having too many job offers, Baby Girl._ But there was a fondness to her voice, and a pride that sparkled in her eyes. Chrissy Nedley said her father had told her Waverly was the talk of the town, _the girl who’d got out and made it_ (there was only a hint of sadness in her voice.) In the end, she’d taken a job at a rival museum, which only allowed Nicole and Jeremy to tease her more.

_So, you’re the enemy now huh?_ Nicole had said, Waverly held tight in her arms, the moonlight drifting through the window and coating them like a blanket, _that could be hot.  
Nicole! _ She slapped Nicole gently on the arm but didn’t miss the slight smirk that spread across her face and the feeling it evoked, right in the pit of her stomach.

She knew she hadn’t left academia behind though, as much as she loved getting up and going to work every day (especially getting to pick out all her _work outfits,_ dragging Nicole with her with the promise of pretzels), a part of her itched to be back researching, back to long hours in the library and crafting her essays line by line. She had half a book already planned out, and a heavy hunch that her dissertation had only been the start of her contribution to the art history community. Nicole had caught her up at midnight, a small lamp lighting up the room, as she desperately scrawled ideas down on a notepad she kept beside her bed, her smile indicating she was proud despite the effect it was having on her sleep schedule.

She’d basically moved into Nicole’s apartment since the trial, the end of the semester meant people had started to move away, and although they had their house to June most of her friends had gone home already, or were busy travelling, meeting up with old friends. Waverly, as much as she loved her family, had no plans to move back to Purgatory any time soon, so instead she stayed in London, and got to watch Nicole flourish, day by day. Nicole had been so much happier since the trial, it was like watching a tiny baby bird learn how to fly. It broke Waverly’s heart a little, to know that’s how she’d always been treated, to know she’d been dancing about like a baby deer on ice, scared of being shot at. Now she got to watch her, her head held high, got to watch her dominate at her job, and be the leader she always knew she could be. She got to watch her laugh loudly with all her friends too, got to watch all her friends fall in love with Nicole, the same way Waverly was (okay maybe not _the same way_ ).

The press had hounded Daniel since the trial had ended, with the truth finally coming to light, he became disgraced, shame and scandal following him like a shroud. The press didn’t care who they were beating down, as long as they got to hit someone with a big stick, and Nicole was just glad they’d turned their attention away from her. He’d had been forced to step down from his role as the gallery manager, and his father had taken back Daniel’s shares in the company, and handed them over to his sister, unable to justify sullying his own image. He was probably off sulking in a mansion somewhere. Truth be told Waverly didn’t think about him often. He hadn’t even bothered to press charges with Wynonna, he didn’t even have a _wooden_ leg to stand on, and Waverly was convinced Wynonna scared him anyway. She was sure she saw him flinch when Wynonna stared him down after the trial. And rightfully so. Wynonna Earp didn’t mess around.

Wynonna and Dolls had headed home a few days after the trial, and the last update Waverly had received was a rather gruesome looking picture of a demon’s head, complete with a thumbs up emoji, so she could only assume Wynonna was doing fine.

There was a cough in the doorway, and Waverly turned to see Nicole standing there, dressed in a full suit, complete with a black tie and everything. Waverly loved when it was suit day, she could sit for hours and watch the way Nicole moved, the way the fabric perfectly hugged every curve, she loved to pull at the tie around her neck, pulling her closer towards her, not missing the way Nicole’s eyes would darken slightly.

Nicole made her way over to her, letting Waverly pull at her tie, bringing her closer to her, until their lips met, Nicole breaking away with a smile.

“You’re meeting went well?” Waverly said, her voice soft as she laced her hand in Nicole’s, standing up and tilting her head to look into her eyes.

“Very well, thank you,” Nicole smiled, “lots of business meetings on the horizon,”

“So, what you’re saying is you’ll be wearing suits more often?”

“Indeed,” Nicole said, shaking her head a little and letting Waverly lean up to kiss her, the pair of them entwined in the empty gallery, the setting sunlight forming halos around their heads.

Waverly broke away, “So are you all packed?”

“Not quite,”

“What!?” Waverly said, her eyes widening, “I’ve been packed for a week,”

Nicole shook her head softly, “I know, and I think that’s adorable,” she smiled, “but there’s plenty of time,”

“I told you I’m a planner,” Waverly grinned and Nicole smiled,

“Arthur’s here to oversee the closing of the museum and the gallery, so I can leave now, I have all afternoon to pack,”

“Well I can think of better things to do than pack,” Waverly grinned and Nicole shook her head as she pulled her out through the gallery door.

~

There was a slight chill to the air, and Waverly felt herself shivering a little as she got out the taxi, Nicole hauling their bags out the back. Waverly was still amazed at her ability to shiver in _August,_ but she could have sworn there was a layer of frost on her window that morning. Nicole placed both of their bags on the pavement, tipping the driver and turning to look at Waverly her arms wrapped around herself, trying to keep herself warm. Nicole rolled her eyes, shrugging off her jacket,

“What I didn’t expect it to be cold!”

“What? From miss two blankets plus a bonus blanket?” she shook her head, watching Waverly pull her jacket on, “How long have you been living here again?” she laughed, handing her her suitcase.

~

“There they are!” came a voice from behind them, and Waverly spun to see Jeremy staring back at her, his face lit up. She threw her arms around him, nearly knocking the suitcase behind him over. She hadn’t seen him in a few weeks, he’d been busy at the museum, and moving out of their house. A couple of them were moving away after university, and although Jeremy, Jack, Jude and Waverly were still hanging around, they couldn’t keep the big house. Waverly had practically moved in with Nicole anyway (it wasn’t like she was lacking the space), and Jeremy had been busy apartment hunting with Jack.

“I missed you,” Waverly grinned, letting Jeremy go, she was sadder than she was letting on that they would no longer be living together,

“What no hug for me?” Chrissy said, and Waverly threw her arms around her,

“Well you are the abandoner,”

“I’m going home for just a few months, Waves,” she rolled her eyes, “just till I figure some stuff out,”

“Jude’s still in London,” Jeremy rolled his eyes, “so you know she won’t be away for long,” which earned Jeremy a slap on the shoulder. Chrissy had started a not-so-secret secret relationship with Jude in the past few weeks, and Waverly had never seen the girl so smitten.

“Nicole,” Chrissy said, trying to divert the attention from herself, “you looking forward to seeing Purgatory for yourself?”

The four of them were heading home. Gus had been begging to see Waverly all summer, asking after her new girlfriend, pretending she didn’t know anything as if Wynonna hadn’t given her all the details, and besides, Waverly knew Nedley had missed Chrissy. Jeremy wasn’t even from Purgatory, but he’d been her best friend for some years now, and her family had basically adopted him. His graduation picture was even on the mantle place, with the pictures of all of Gus’ other adopted children. Gus missed them all, and they all missed her.  

“Yeah, of course,”

“You’re nervous!” Jeremy said, his eyes lighting up,

“Of course she’s nervous Jer,” Chrissy grinned, “she’s going to get the Wynonna treatment all over again, plus Gus and no doubt my dad will want to get some words in there,” Nicole paled a little, and Waverly squeezed her hand,

“They’ll all love you, I know they will,” she smiled up at Nicole,

“Is that a hickey on your neck?” Chrissy shouted, causing a family to turn around and scowl at her, Waverly’s face turning bright red, Nicole trying to hide her face behind her hair,

“No!” Waverly said, pulling the collar on Nicole’s jacket a little higher,

“Oh my god it totally is,” Jeremy grinned,

“Anyway we should check in,” Waverly said, jetting off and dragging her suitcase behind her, leaving Chrissy and Jeremy to stare after her, laughing.

~

Waverly fell almost straight to sleep on the plane over, a pastel sleep mask placed firmly over her eyes, her head tucked into Nicole’s neck. Nicole had upgraded all of their seats to first class, a fact that Jeremy and Chrissy had squealed about, their eyes widening at the sight of _actual private beds,_ an utter of _I guess that’s why you date a princess._ Nicole was hoping the nickname wouldn’t stick. Of course, the upgrade had seemingly been pointless as Waverly had climbed straight into Nicole’s pod, tucking herself against her and immediately falling asleep, Nicole now as cramped as she probably would have been in the first place. Of course, she also couldn’t make herself feel mad about it, she was still overwhelmed with how _lucky_ she was. Waverly had entered her life like an angel, skyrocketing in and changing everything for the better, she pulled her a little closer, placing a kiss on her forehead. No, of course she couldn’t be mad.

Nicole’s parents had tried to contact her a couple of times since the trial, initially she’d hoped it could change things, facing Daniel and winning was the validation Nicole had craved over and over again, when her mother had refused to accept her, when her father had told her she was just being sensitive. A part of her hoped her mother was calling to apologise, that this might have opened her eyes. But of course, that small part of her that hoped, that had been crushed and crinkled time and time again, was once more disappointed. She wasn’t even upset about it anymore. Her mother had called to express her disappointment in Nicole’s ‘humiliation of a perfectly nice boy’ and uninvite her from a soiree she’d had no intention of attending. She’d cut ties with her mother a long time ago, but she felt as if this time it might finally be the last time, she had new people now. She caught Jeremy’s eye from across the aisle, sharing a smile. Yes, she was way on her way to having a whole new family of her own.

~

Waverly sleepily leant against Nicole’s side as they waited for their baggage. The electric lights, the hum of the luggage carousel, the big wide windows were all too familiar to Waverly, just a part of the endlessly long trip she made a couple of times a year, just something more to lug through. But to Nicole it was all new, out of the wide windows the sun was baking down, and she could see dirt as far as the eye could see, gone was the green, green grass of home.

Jeremy’s bag was the absolute last to come around the carousel, everyone else long departed, dragging their cases to meet love ones, or back to isolated hotel rooms. Waverly had woken up slightly, and was chatting animatedly on the phone to Gus (who was anxiously waiting at the gate), seeing her face lit up melted a part of Nicole’s heart and she leaned in to kiss her on the forehead, Waverly turning to beam at her.

~

“There you are!” Gus said, running towards Waverly and squeezing her all too tight. Gus was exactly as Nicole had imagined, small in stature, the same warmth shining from her as Waverly, as if a small halo was also clipped onto her head, but she had a steely glare too, one that warned that if you ever dare hurt her or her girls, you wouldn’t live to tell the tale. She couldn’t imagine a mother figure for Waverly and Wynonna being any other way. The perfect matriarch. Gus let go of Waverly, and moved to hug Jeremy, nearly knocking him backwards. Another figure stood just behind Gus, a small man, with a rather impressive moustache across his upper lip, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, but his face lit up when he saw Chrissy, and the way she threw her arms around him, a good six inches taller than him, told Nicole that he had to be her father.

“You must be Nicole?” Gus said, turning to face her,

“That’s me, lovely to meet you, Ms Gibson,” Nicole said, extending her hand, but Gus only laughed,

“Nobody’s called me that in years,” she said, throwing her arms around her, “and I hear your family now, we don’t do handshakes,” she remembered Wynonna saying the exact same thing to her all those months ago. _Like mother like daughter huh._

Speaking of Wynonna, she stood slightly behind Gus, Dolls’ arm slung around her shoulder, and if Nicole’s eyes weren’t tricking her, her stomach looked a little rounder than the last time she’d saw her. Waverly’s eyes widened, panning from Wynonna’s stomach back up to her face and back down again, a grin spreading across her face,

“Hey, didn’t anyone tell you it’s rude to stare?” Wynonna quipped, grinning as she threw her arms around Waverly,

“Are you pregnant?” Waverly said, pulling away from Wynonna her eyes wide,

“Maybe,”

“You’re pregnant and you didn’t tell me?” Waverly said, hitting her in the arm,

“Hey, I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to hit a pregnant woman,”

“But we only saw you five months ago?” Waverly said, still trying to process the information,

“So that would make us five months pregnant,” Dolls said, Waverly not missing the giant grin that spread across his face,

“Us?” Wynonna laughed, “I’m the one doing all the work here buddy,” she joked but Nicole could tell from the way Dolls grinned down at her that he was more smitten than ever.

“Congratulations,” Nicole said, stepping in for Waverly who still seemed to be in a state of semi-shock.

“Well if this reunion’s over,” Gus smiled, “I think we better get on the road,” she turned to Waverly, “here pass me your case, love,” she said, Waverly letting her take it without a protest, Dolls taking hold of Jeremy’s, Chrissy’s case already half way to Nedley’s police car.

“Want me to take that Haught?” Wynonna said, raising her eyebrows,

“Not sure you should be lifting anything,” Nicole said, gesturing towards her stomach,

“Hey, I’ll have you know that I’m stronger than you, even whilst pregnant,”

Nicole only laughed, _she’d missed this._

~

They’d said goodbye to Chrissy in the car park, Nedley ruffling Waverly’s hair and giving Nicole a good old fashioned ‘talking to’ as Chrissy had promised. Nedley had watched Waverly grow up, kept an eye on her and Wynonna, especially during Wynonna’s rebellious ‘phase’. He’d always been there with a cup of hot chocolate when Waverly had found herself at the Nedley’s after school.

They started the long journey back to the homestead, the three of them piled into Gus’ jeep, Wynonna and Dolls taking her blue pickup, Wynonna giving them the finger when they inevitably overtook them.

Waverly had told Nicole that she lived in the middle of nowhere, but Nicole had never imagined it to be this remote, she counted thirty minutes that they drove out of the main town without seeing anything more than desert and dirt, the occasional plant or old car wreck, but otherwise just land, as far as the eye could see. She started to understand why Waverly had told her it was like living in a western, she got the sense that time had sat still here for some time. It was certainly a far cry from the mowed lawn and trees that surrounded her childhood home. The homestead also looked like something straight out of a western, old wooden posts holding up a sign with _Earp s_ cratched into it, the only two buildings on the land an old rickety barn that looked as if it had seen better days, and the house itself, complete with a swing on the front porch that Nicole had only ever seen in films. Waverly and Jeremy were chatting, saying things seemingly out of left field;

_Do you remember when you were once hung from that sign?_ Waverly shook her head, simply saying _it’s a long story_ when Nicole’s eyes widened,

or _Willa once made me walk across the beams in that barn, I nearly fell and hit my head, Wynonna had to catch me,_

or _I once was on the middle of that pond when the ice cracked._

And Nicole was struck by how much _more t_ here was to know about Waverly, they’d spent hours talking, the darkness crackling around them, but there was still _more,_ Nicole smiled at the thought of it.

~

Dinner was already ready as they stepped through the door, the slow cooker having been on all day, a rich smell filling the house. Gus was making her chili, the very same one Waverly had tried to make for Nicole all those months ago, when she’d dropped everything to come and take care of her, and when she’d looked at Waverly across the table, the candlelight draping her face in a warm glow, and thought, _I love this woman._ She laced her hand in Waverly’s, Waverly turning to look up at her, smiling.

Wynonna was already sat in the living room with her feet up on the coffee table, a half-eaten donut in one hand, her phone in the other, some kind of science investigative show blaring away in the background,

“Finally here huh slow pokes?” Wynonna grinned at them as they walked through,

“Wynonna you’re not supposed to be eating before dinner,” Gus said, shaking her head fondly and placing her hands on hips as if Wynonna were still the ragtag little girl that had come to her after their father died, the same girl with hair too wild to even attempt to brush, who’d she’d have to chase around the homestead to get her to come in for dinner.

“Well maybe if you weren’t so slow,” she said, grinning, her eyes practically sparkling,

“Hey, I love this show!” Jeremy said, sitting himself down next to Wynonna,

“Of course you do,” she rolled her eyes,

~

They all sat around the table, a ridiculous amount of food spread across the table. Dolls had his arm wrapped around the back of Wynonna’s chair, and was laughing ridiculously loud about something Gus was saying about Shorty (whoever that was), hitting the table with his spare a hand, all of them smiling up at him. Nicole hadn’t really experienced a family dinner like it, hers had always been silence and polite conversation, _pass the peas please._ But here they all were, elbows on the table, eating with only forks, laughing loud and shouting over each other, and Nicole _loved it._ She could feel the love threaded through the air like a tapestry, and she thought about what her mother had spat down the phone at her, that the museum, the gallery, was _nothing but ruins,_ that’s what her grandfather had left her, _ruins._ But it was so much more than that, he’d given her a new chance, he’d given her a family, a home, and as she looked around the room, Nicole couldn’t imagine any place she’d rather be. Waverly just smiled at her oddly as she stared into space,

“Are you okay?” she said, moving to hold Nicole’s hand under the table,

“Of course,” she grinned, “would you pass the peas please?”

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading, it means the world to me. Feel free to leave kudos / let me know what you thought in the comments below.  
> My tumblr is waverlysangels, and my twitter is waverlysangel (this is probably the last change now for a while, but look now they match!) if u wanna come talk / leave me any prompts.  
> Hope you have a nice day!


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